How quitting alcohol helps you achieve more in business and life

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How your life can change if you stop drinking.

Andy Ramage, author of OneYearNoBeer, has helped rethink more than 10,000 people around alcohol. Through his experience and that of others, he has become an expert in instilling a love of healthy habits.

Three years ago, Raymeage decided to live a year without alcohol. Many thought it was impossible. They thought it would hurt his brokerage business. But in fact, giving up alcohol helped change his life and business for the better.

How it all began

Ramage was the first to go to the bar and the last to leave. Alcoholic drinks helped him celebrate the holidays, relax, make friends, communicate and entertain customers. With Ramage it was fun, but the clinking of glasses or bottles was always heard nearby.

Raymidge rated his own happiness only 5 points out of 10, which in no way correlated with his successful career and wonderful family. Discontent grew in him. He had dreams and goals that eluded him. He was unsportsmanlike and lethargic. His life became a vicious circle of work, family and stress.

Searching for a reason

Ramage wanted to be much happier, so for the first time in his life he began to evaluate everything. He rethought his diet and exercise regimen, and began to meditate. But it didn’t work: there was not enough time and motivation to exercise, Raymeage was too stressed for meditation, and a healthy diet was canceled out by dinners with clients and late night snacks.

He continued to search and one day he realized that he had to deal with a much more serious problem - alcohol. But the refusal of alcohol was incredibly frightening, even though he was not an alcoholic.

Nevertheless, Ramage realized that alcohol was preventing him from moving forward. He wanted to stop drinking in order to be a better father and husband, to become more fit, faster, healthier and more productive in life and work.

Three weeks without alcohol

It is very difficult to give up alcohol while living in a big city. Most people will do their best to prevent you from quitting drinking.

But after several attempts, Raymidge still managed to live without alcohol for three weeks. Finally, he began to feel the benefits of not drinking.

Going to a "boring" corner

Social pressure grew and rumors began to circulate. Ramage went to a corner of boring teetotalers, from which he was allowed to return only if he started drinking again.

He decided that if his business began to suffer because of this, he would abandon his ordeal. If he broke, then this turning point would not have occurred, which radically changed his life.

Benefits of Quitting Alcohol

Three weeks smoothly flowed into four, then two months, and then three. Then dramatic changes began to take place.

Very quickly, Ramage began to gain physical shape. No longer had to give up exercise because of a hangover. Without alcohol, it’s easier to understand which foods and activities energize and which take away. All this helped him lose weight: in a year he lost 19 kg, and his fat level dropped from 30% to less than 10%.

Ramage returned to university, completed his degree, and moved on to a master's program in Positive Psychology and Coaching. He helped create the 30-day Mindfit program aimed at tackling mental health problems in the big city. He also co-founded OneYearNoBeer.

Ramage's relationship has been successful both at home and at work. His brokerage business was growing rapidly, his motivation was high, he felt great.

There is time for life outside of work

It takes a long time to drink, and even more to hangovers. Once you stop drinking, you have a ton of time and energy for old hobbies and interests. You start living again, not existing.

Your relationship is flourishing

Customers appreciate someone who has no hangover in the morning and with whom they can communicate normally. Children appreciate a father who is full of energy and is ready to play with them. The wife loves her new and happy husband even more.

Self-confidence grows

The false confidence that alcohol gives away destroys real confidence. The restlessness and nervousness caused by a hangover reduces the readiness for battle to naught. Without alcohol, your inner confidence grows stronger.

Mental abilities are revealed

Alcohol and hangovers are detrimental to mental well-being. With the binge, Ramage felt intense anxiety. It seemed to him that he was falling into a pit: the longer the hangover lasted, the deeper this pit was. He completely got rid of this feeling when he stopped drinking, and it became a real revelation for him.

Improves health

Everyone knows how bad the use of alcoholic beverages is on health, but they still continue to drink. A hangover destroys exercise motivation and creates cravings for junk food. When you quit drinking, it is easier for you to eat healthy, more energy appears for sports.

You are creative with entertainment

By cutting off alcohol, you begin to choose your entertainment more carefully and creatively, which improves your relationships with people. Clients love activities like yoga, go-karting and cycling. But for a party with a drink, Ramage never received a thank-you letter.

Improves sleep

Sleep is essential for high performance. And even a small amount of alcohol can spoil it. Even one glass can knock you out, but you sleep so badly that the body does not have time to recover. And when you still do not have enough time to sleep, then productivity tends to zero.

How to stop drinking

Take a break

First, you should change your attitude towards alcohol. The only option is to pause. It could be 28, 90, or even 365 days.

It is impossible to gain complete control over yourself without showing that you can do without alcohol in your social and business life.

Set a sports goal

Challenge yourself beyond your abilities. Let it be, for example, a regular 5-mile run if you are just starting out, or a marathon if you run 10 km without any problems.

This way you will become more focused, your body and spirit will become stronger. Plus, you'll gain confidence and start spending the time that booze used to take away from you.

If you make a mistake, don't be discouraged

Learn, get stronger, compare your achievements and don't blame yourself for anything. Forgiveness leads to responsibility, and guilt leads to excuses.

It is widely believed that a mistake is a failure. Because of this, people start to overeat or over-drink and feel weak.

Realize your mistake, reflect on it and become stronger. Remember: no one is perfect.

Find replacements for bad habits

The best way to break a bad habit is to find a replacement. Find your trigger - it can be time, place, emotion, action, or person. Find a driving force: for example, you can drink to relax or join the company.

After that, simply replace the bad habit with a healthy one so that the trigger and the driving force remain the same. If you drink alcohol to socialize with friends, go to the gym with them instead of the bar.

Use an excuse

Most of us need a good reason to stop drinking. But if you are not pregnant or sick, then all the arguments are shattered when friends, family or colleagues ask you to drink with them.

Your non-alcoholic program may well be the excuse. The next time they start pouring you, say, "No thanks, I have a ton of things planned out this year, so I decided to challenge myself and not drink for 28/90/365 days."

Tell the world about your aspiration

Share your solution with others, for example via social media. The more people know about it, the easier your path will be.

You will not need to explain to everyone you meet why you are not drinking. And you will also have additional motivation, because instinctively everyone wants to please their surroundings.

Write down each reason you want to take a non-alcoholic break

Write down why you want to give up alcohol. It helps a lot to change habits. Ask yourself why you want an alcohol-free life. What led you to this?

Use paper, tablet or laptop - choose what works best for you. For added motivation, post a list of reasons where you'll see it daily.

Plan

If you decide to give up alcohol, start planning your life carefully and prepare for the unexpected. At any moment, an old friend may appear on the doorstep, whom you have not seen for a hundred years and who will definitely want to have a glass with you. At such a moment, just smile and remember what you wrote down on your list of reasons.

If you are going to an event, make sure there are soft drinks available. If the celebration will take place in a bar or cafe, call there and ask.

Imagine ordering a soft drink, having a good time, and telling others how good your life is without alcohol. A similar technique is used by athletes in preparation for a competition.