Dry January...Bye January!

I saw this meme yesterday and it resonated so much! January often feels like the longest month of the year and a big shock to the system, coming off the holiday fun, and getting back into the daily grind of work, school, and fitness.

For me, it was an extra shock to my system as I took on the “Dry January” challenge. In the event you’ve been living under a rock the last month and don’t know what Dry January is, it’s going the whole month without any alcohol. No beer, no wine, no fireball shots, whatever your poison is… you may not have any.  

Why in the world would anyone do this to themselves you might ask? Well, I certainly got this question from many friends and family members, who teased me as they sipped their wine & beer while I drank my seltzer with blackberries.

But here’s why I did it. For me, I associate the month of January with renewal. A new year, a new opportunity to create new patterns and healthy habits. I imbibed way too much over the holidays and really was feeling sloppy both physically and mentally. I was not living out the healthy habits I knew I needed to have for myself and I was burnt out. I needed to shock my body (and mind) back into a healthy place, and in order to do this, I would have to do something drastic. I knew it would help snap me back into the routine of eating healthy and training, and I hoped it would help my anxiety. I am by nature a very anxious person. Over the holidays my anxiety was at an all time high, and alcohol feeds my anxiety something fierce. So emotionally, I knew the break would be good for me. Plus, I thought, maybe it would help me lose the extra 5 pounds I’ve been carrying around this past year.

You are probably wondering if I made it through the month? Heck yeah, I did! I will be truthful and say I did taste a beer during the month but literally a sip (just to taste) so I am not counting that. I had a few rough days throughout the month, where I usually would have resorted to a glass of wine at bedtime, but I held out. And I had a few wins in my professional life that I would have celebrated with some champagne, but again I held out.

So, what were my takeaways? Well, I was surprised that I had quite a few big takeaways that I really did not expect to come out of this.

I had more energy. Not drinking any alcohol really helped me to feel physically better. It also helped me to sleep better, which in turn really helped me to feel more energized throughout the day. And what came of that was I was more productive and had better workouts which was a huge score.

I was more positive. Around the holidays I was super negative. At work, in life, just in general. Alcohol is a depressant. So naturally it makes sense that omitting it from your lifestyle will help eliminate depression. The thing is, I never really felt depressed or sad, but every day in the month of January, it was wild that when I woke up, I just felt so positive about the day.

I had less anxiety. Alcohol fuels my anxiety. It causes me to build mountains out of mole hills. Detoxing my body of it for a month allowed me to handle the stress of life with a better sense of calm and less heart palpitations. I went “worst case scenario” far less than I usually do and had less panic attacks which is huge for me.

I was more organized and clearer headed. I have a very demanding job, and my home life is just as demanding with two little kids. I tend to be all over the place, especially when I am busy. January was an extremely busy work month for me, but, somehow, I managed to handle all of that and get more organized to set myself up for a year of success. I paid my bills earlier, I organized my office, I organized different areas of my home, I organized my work files and systems and got myself set up for a productive year.

I had more ambition & drive. Because I was more energized, positive, organized, and less anxious, it resulted in an amplified level and ambition and drive. I am an ambitious person normally, but this month was different, this month was ambition on FIRE! I raised my hand for some awesome challenges and opportunities in my career, I started my marathon training plan, started waking up earlier, practicing journaling, and most importantly, I finished this blog that I have been “talking” about for a year.

I did not lose the 5 pounds, but what I gained was so much greater. Learning that there are ways I can control my stress, energy, and ambition was huge, and I fully intend to keep the months following as dry as possible (not completely, I am human after all, and I really love champagne). But I have definitely reset my mind and my body to make positive choices and this was a very necessary learning experience.

Life is all about small choices, which add up to larger choices. It’s not always easy to make the right choices. They aren’t always the fun choices or the easy ones. They might not be the choices of your friends and family, but they are YOURS. Make positive small choices, try something new, challenge yourself, and take the steps toward achieving that big goal!

I hope this month in review helps someone else out there who is staring at the face of some big goals in 2020. Please drop me a line if you’d like to hear a few of the mental tricks I have deployed to help me to stick to my goals.

Cheers!