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Tips, strategies, and stories to help you reduce drinking and live a fuller, more vibrant life. Delivered to your inbox, every Friday
Why do we drink?
I’ve been drinking a little too much. I should probably take some time off. Let’s do a sober month. 1 week: This is hard, but I got through the first weekend, and I’m starting to feel better. 2 weeks: Wow, I’m starting to dream again. That’s cool. 3 weeks: I am working out all the time, I’m on top of work, and I have a lot more energy. I love this. 4 weeks: I did it! One month sober. I knew I could do it. I am going to start being more intentional with drinking. I have a concert tonight, I’ll...
The Man Who Felt No Negative Effects From Alcohol
"I don’t experience any negative effects when I drink alcohol." A bold statement, right? Someone recently told me this, and I was intrigued. I mean, isn’t this the dream? Drink what you want, whenever you want, and feel great. Naturally, I had questions. The Conversation: “How much do you drink?” “One a day, maybe a few on weekends.” “Nice! I’ve always found even one drink messes with my sleep. How’s yours?” “Well, I don’t track my sleep, but I feel like I sleep well.” Hmm, okay. “Ever...
Comfort Is Holding You Back
What is the biggest driver of most behaviors? To escape discomfort. Think about it. We eat when we’re hungry, bored, or sad. We drink when we’re stressed, lack confidence, or feel lonely. We scroll through social media when we’re bored, stressed, or procrastinating. In today’s world, tools to avoid discomfort are everywhere. We have phones that deliver instant dopamine. Netflix releases multiple movies and TV shows every week. We can get any kind of food delivered to our door in 30 minutes....
The Hard Truth About Becoming Your Best Self
Life is made up of different chapters. Some of us decide to keep reliving the same one, year after year. But others choose to turn the page occasionally and begin a new chapter. They go through rebirths. Rebirths can take many forms. It might be a rebirth in your health. It might be a career shift. It might be a spiritual awakening. No matter the form, the "old" you has to step aside to make space for the "new" you. Let's look at an example: Imagine you decide to prioritize your health. You...
The Power of Compounding: Beyond Dollars and Cents
About 12 years ago, I walked into an economics class and learned about this magical thing called "compound interest." At first, it seemed like a cheat code. Sure, the initial ramp was small, but once it started gaining momentum, growth went crazy For example: A penny doubling every day for 15 days is worth $163.84. But if it keeps doubling for 30 days, it's worth $5,368,709.12! My biggest takeaway? I needed to invest as young as possible so I could get to that tail and watch it grow. What I...
Choose Wisely: Pleasure or Contentment?
Whenever I turn on Netflix, I feel good. When I crack open a beer at 5 PM on Friday, it feels good too. But then it doesn’t. The feeling fades fast. It’s fleeting. Yet, when I crush a workout, that high can last all day. When I have a breakthrough with a client, I feel fulfilled for the rest of the week. What’s the difference? Not all happiness is created equal. The difference between pleasure and contentment is significant—while pleasure is often easy to obtain, true contentment usually...
Overcoming FOMO: Finding Fun Without Alcohol
I want to take the weekend off from drinking, but what the hell do I do? I typically hang with friends and go to the bars. Am I just going to be sitting around bored all week? It might be okay to reset for one weekend, but how would I make a habit of this? Effect: I end up drinking because I don't want to miss out on anything. Strategy: Shift your focus Humans don't like change. As a result, when we first try to reduce our drinking, it's natural for us to put up our defenses. We jump to all...
Struggling With Motivation? This One Question Made All The Difference
What motivates you? In our society people talk a lot about material things. The fancy cars, nice house and Rolex watches. While those things are nice, they never truly motivated me. When I was going through a difficult patch, and I thought, "man, once you are through this you can get that new Audi," it just didn't get me going. When I asked a different question, that's when everything shifted. Instead of "what things do you want", I asked, "what type of person do you want to be?" I want to be...
Steal Mark Manson's Morning Routine
This week I woke up to the below email from Mark Manson (author of "Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck"): The real "morning routine" nobody tells you about: Eat a reasonable dinner, no caffeine or alcohol. Stop looking at screens around 9 PM. Get into bed by 10 PM. Relax, meditate, do some light reading. Wake up early feeling f*cking great and ready to go. Think of the last time you woke up feeling refreshed. What had you done the night before? Now think of the last time you woke up feeling like...
Gut Check: How Alcohol Disrupts Your Digestive System
Let’s talk about your gut! I’m skipping the usual story this week because I don’t think you want to hear about my gut. If you’re missing the story, feel free to use your imagination. Scenario: We see all the "positives" of alcohol in commercials, on social media, the glamorous nights out, the crazy football tailgates, the fancy cocktail bars, but where’s the disclaimer? You know, like the ones pharmaceutical drugs get warning you of the potential risks. Well, today, I’m going to share one of...
Does Drinking Make Your Lake Days Better? What if it doesn’t?
For as long as I can remember, boating and drinking were tied together like peanut butter and jelly. As soon as I’d get to the cabin, we’d grab a cooler and head for the boat. Right as we pulled off, you'd hear crack, and it’d be the first beer of the weekend. Everyone would be cheering and grinning from ear to ear. We’d rotate between wakeboarding, waterskiing, and, of course, drinking. After a few hours on the water, we’d head back in. What a time! Big Question: Drinking is so wrapped up...
Tips, strategies, and stories to help you reduce drinking and live a fuller, more vibrant life. Delivered to your inbox, every Friday