Good morning, fellow sobernauts, IWNDWYT 😁!
We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we’re here together!
Welcome to the 24 hour pledge! I’m pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.
Maybe you’re new to c/stop drinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you’re like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you’ve been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.
It doesn’t matter if you’re still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, let’s not drink alcohol!
congratulations!
What are your temptations, and how can you mitigate them?
for instance, Friday nights became my treat night. I’d get the ingredients for a favourite meal, a really nice non-alcoholic drink, and a beauty treatment, and I’d put dinner on and after dinner I’d get into my pyjamas and do a sheet mask and a hand mask while watching a film.
On days when I was working from home, I’d go for a walk, or in the winter I’d do a workout at home, after locking my laptop for the day, rather than going for a walk to the fridge for wine.
I worked on breaking those associations of “it’s a certain time of day, it’s time for a drink,” by changing my routine. Pushing dinner prep back by 15 minutes by doing a meditation beforehand, which broke that “meal prep = time for the first glass,” neural pathway. I live on my own so I control what comes in through my front door, and I don’t drink, so I don’t buy alcohol, I don’t have to negotiate other people’s drinking in my space. For the first six months or so I was getting groceries delivered and always making sure there was plenty of non-alcoholic drink options in the fridge, so I didn’t go “urgh, there’s nothing to eat/drink, I’ll just go to the shop and oh look how did this wine get into my basket?”
This is awesome advice, thanks for taking the time to write this up. It’s standard for me to leave the office a few minutes early on Friday, drop my car off at my garage, and walk a few doors down to the bar. Instead, I’m working from home today to ensure that my muscle memory doesn’t take me anywhere near the bar. The only time I’m going outside is to walk the dog, and I’m leaving my car keys in the house just in case.
I’m planning to make a massive tray of nachos and play videogames tonight. I’ve been dieting for a while, so nachos can be my after-work treat instead of a 12-pack of tallboys.