You’ve finished Dry January.
It’s been a month of sipping non-alcoholic drinks and driving everyone home at the end of the night.
And now that it’s over, you’re probably wondering what to do next.
You could celebrate with a beer or a glass of wine, or you could start planning your next night out.
Or, you could even keep going.
Aberdeenshire life coach Gillian Cockburn says it’s a good time to pause, reflect and ask yourself a few key questions BEFORE you take your next step.
Take stock of the surprising benefits
Now that you’ve given up drinking for a whole month you’ll have noticed a lot of improvements in your life.
Has not drinking freed up time and energy as well as having some extra cash in your pocket?
Are you sleeping better?
Does there seem to be less drama in your life?
Gillian says you’ll likely find you’re less reactive and can focus on getting more done.
There will be fewer trips to the glass recycling station and you’ll also be 100% confident you’re not over the limit to drive in the morning.
The new habits
There’s been time for new habits as well over the past four weeks.
Maybe you’re finally using your gym membership, or you’re replacing “treating” yourself with a drink with some actual self-care?
Planning activities for Saturday mornings that involves leaving the house can also fill your weekends with more fun.
Set another alcohol-free goal
And now that you’ve finished Dry January could you extend this to 100 days, perhaps take on Dry till July – or even set your new challenge to a year?
Try to envision your life without alcohol forever and ask what scares you about that thought.
Think about what you’ve learned about yourself
Has the past month been a big wake up call to how much influence alcohol has on your life?
You might have found you were white knuckling it all the way and were worried about how much control alcohol has over you.
“As you ponder these questions, your answer to the better question “What now… for ME?” will become clear,” Gillian says.
“If you have had even just a fleeting thought that this might get better over time, that’s your body’s way of saying Thank You!
“Listen to your intuition, it’s seldom wrong.
“Maybe before you decide to drink again, plan a non-alcohol related treat on February 1 with the money you’ve saved.
“If you’ve been ‘counting down’ the days till the 31, maybe shift your mindset to counting up more days. See how many you can get to.
Gillian, of Alford, recently celebrated 18 months without alcohol and is now coaching others on how they can live happy sober lives.
She believes many people push aside hard to face feelings with alcohol for years and can benefit from finding their true selves by living sober.
And now that you’ve finished Dry January you can find more information on how to do this on her website findingyoucoaching.co.uk/sober-coaching
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