Shifting Your Perspectives To Gain
A persistent narrative around abstaining from alcohol is the idea that that person “can’t drink.” This is certainly the way our boozy society sees folks who live alcohol-free, and it’s so pervasive in our culture that we often view our life in a similar lens. When it seems like everyone else is “normal” and “able to drink,” it’s easy to feel like we’re losing out on something. The truth is, however, that we gain so much when we remove alcohol from our lives.
Whether you’ve arrived at this point because alcohol has taken a significant toll on your life, or you simply feel like it doesn’t serve you anymore, it’s likely that alcohol has given you many negative experiences in your life. Be it a killer hangover or a shameful event, weird stomach issues or mental health consequences, alcohol directly and indirectly imparts harm in our lives. When we no longer drink, we gain clarity, presence, health, better relationships, and hangover-free mornings.
Of course, shifting into a perspective of gain is easier said than done; it truly is a practice. Many people experience anger and frustration when they arrive at the decision to quit drinking—it feels as if this is something we should be able to manage (advertisers advising we “drink responsibly” doesn’t help), and we feel disappointed that we have to remove it from our lives. This is perfectly normal, and a wonderful opportunity to begin flipping the script and viewing our choice through the eyes of what we gain instead.
