Do you desire to drink less?
To drink less, what works best? Willpower?
In this blog post, you’ll learn the best way to drink less.
Let’s dive in…
Does Willpower Help Drink Less?
When I was a heavy drinker, my off-switch usually worked pretty well. I often decided to get drunk, and I did.
But when I had a reason to limit myself, for example; because I had to drive, I could do so. I always wanted more, but I usually had the self-discipline to win the tug-of-war with the desire.
I realize that for some people, just having a functioning off-switch seems like the answer to all their prayers.
However, now that I’ve created a different relationship with alcohol for myself, I see that as the wrong way.
Back to the tug of war metaphor – remember the rag that would be tied around the centerline of the rope? When you’re using willpower to counteract your desire, you become that rag, moving chaotically back and forth in response to outside forces.
You’re living in instability, feeling deprived when willpower wins, suffering the consequences when desire wins.
And what I found was that the definition of ‘willpower winning’ in this scenario means avoidance of trouble. When you’re locked into this battle, you aren’t aware of the opportunities you’re missing out on because of the inflated importance drinking has for you.
You’re living in instability, feeling deprived when willpower wins, suffering the consequences when desire wins.
Even if managing drinking via willpower was a good solution, I wouldn’t be able to teach it to people. Willpower is inherently a limited resource, dependent upon a person’s biology and history, and affected by their immediate life situation. To prescribe a solution based on such a fragile and unique resource would be completely irresponsible.
The Alternative To Willpower If You Want To Drink Less
So what’s the alternative?
The solution is to eliminate or recalibrate your desire for alcohol.
Desire doesn’t just happen; it’s created by how you think about alcohol and your life. All this thinking – conscious and unconscious – creates emotions, and it’s the emotion that directly and indirectly fuels the desire.
This shows you how to manage your thinking and embrace your emotions so that you reduce desire, not just to fight it.
The Result
And the result?
For me, it’s that I didn’t have to quit drinking to change my life. I was seriously into beer, for the taste and the buzz, and as a hobby. So I didn’t want to quit.
But I was tired of feeling bad and old and stale. The tug-of-war wasn’t working for me any longer. It means that:
- I can be around other folks doing heavy drinking, while I enjoy one or two drinks, and I never feel deprived.
- I have a take it or leave it attitude about alcohol that lets me enjoy it when I want, and never feel like I’m drinking against my will or out of habit.
- When life challenges me, I don’t need or even want to take the edge off. I can embrace that edge because I know that there is insight and confidence there.
- I have a reliable and reproducible skill that I can teach to people, to enable them to change their relationship with alcohol and live a bigger better life.
Ready to recalibrate your desire to drink?