Progress over perfection is my motto for the day! My personality tends to be “all or nothing” – but, lately, I’ve given myself grace over making progress instead of being perfect at anything.

A reader’s question answered

I love receiving questions from friends who are interested in the sober curious movement. So, when speaking with a friend who is on her own alcohol free challenge, she sent me the following note about “slip ups. And, of course, I wanted to address in today’s note to you!

Question:

How do you feel about relapses? I am doing a 30-day alcohol free challenge, but I had a slip and drank yesterday. I still plan on doing the rest of the month sober but I wanted to know your thoughts.

Answer:

I think, when it comes to alcohol, we should all give ourselves a little grace. We are practicing a new habit, which doesn’t happen overnight! It takes a while to rewire a brain that is used to drinking alcohol at every event, every occasion.

That’s not to say that we shouldn’t commit wholeheartedly – but it took me SEVERAL, dozens event, attempts to get to a place where it’s easy for me to say “no” to alcohol.

For me, I had to work through a lot of situations – birthday parties, special events, boring Thursday nights, tough days – and everything in between. So when I reached for wine during one (or all) of the above, I learned something about why I was drinking in the first place.

So, if you’re truly trying to achieve a sober lifestyle or pursue an alcohol free goal, definitely commit to not drinking – but don’t give up if you have a slip up.

Mistakes happen. You’re human. And it’s a process.

“In truth, our lives benefit from deep, lasting growth when we make changes slowly.” – Jim Daly

Keep going. Don’t look back. Celebrate making small steps towards achieving your goal. If you truly want it, you will find a way and the power to turn down alcohol, otherwise, you’ll always find an excuse!

Wishing you all a happy Sunday and a fun, fantastic (alcohol free) weekend!

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