What have you done differently in the past week to make a change in your drinking?
If you didn’t do anything, pay attention to how you feel about it. If you feel a little defensive or guilty, notice that.
You might notice that that’s an old feeling and that it still hasn’t inspired any forward motion. I can promise you that it ain’t going to.
Try to replace it with curiosity. Drop the judgment, and ask yourself why you haven’t done anything.
Here are typical reasons I’ve heard from people:
- I don’t have time
- Things are too hectic right now
- I forget
- I’m afraid
- Nothing will work
Whatever your reasons, are they really true? Will they be true next week, next month, or next year? If so, do you want to let them keep you stuck for that long?
If you DID try something, what happened?
If you had some success, why? Notice if you tend to not take credit for it, to attribute it to something outside yourself. Try to find a way to see how you created the success, and consider how you could build on that.
If you didn’t succeed, did you learn anything? What came up to obstruct your effort? What could you do a little differently to get around that obstacle on your next effort?
Whatever your specific issue around drinking is, you CAN solve it.
The single biggest impediment to doing so is a lack of awareness. You’ve developed a way of thinking about the issue that keeps you pounding away on the overdrinking treadmill.
Conclusion
A new way of thinking is what will get you off of it. Not willpower. Not rules. Not more judgment.
You can’t get to the new thinking until you uncover and acknowledge the old.