What Comes After Dry January?
Or any short-term break from alcohol?
This time, six years ago, I was faced with a pivotal decision. We were approaching the end of January and I’d almost completed my first-ever successful sober stint. Although I’d been hesitant to commit to Dry January, taking a 30-day break from alcohol felt tremendously empowering. Yet, as the month drew to an end, I knew there were two paths I could potentially go down:
Celebrate a successful Dry January & try to have a more mindful relationship with alcohol moving forward
Keep the momentum from Dry January going
Something within me told me that option #1 was hopeful at best. Deep inside, I knew that I had no desire to have things go back to the way they had been between me and alcohol and I wasn't confident that a 30-day break was enough to make lasting change.
When it came to considering option #2, I was equal parts terrified and exhilarated. I'd built so much of my identity around my Party Girl persona that I began to anticipate the grief of letting her go. And yet, I knew - with deep certainty - that it would be much easier to keep going than to stop and try to start again.
In that moment, I committed to 60 additional days alcohol-free. This commitment guaranteed that I'd be sober for my birthday (the first time I'd celebrated without booze in over a decade) and an upcoming wedding and vacation. So, if anyone understands the overwhelm of plunging into an alcohol-free lifestyle…it's me.
However, I can say, with deep certainty that I'm so, SO glad that I kept going. For me, it was absolutely easier to stay stopped than it was to test the waters of moderation.
The most difficult thing about deciding to stay dry after January was that, all those years ago, there wasn't a community, a teacher, a course, or a program to guide me. Because I didn't identify with Recovery support, I was left scraping together the resources that I needed to understand and change my mindset around alcohol and gain the confidence I needed (and wanted) to navigate the world alcohol-free. Back in 2017, there simply weren’t people teaching about sobriety from a non-recovery approach. Admittedly, I was too stubborn to enroll in an approach that didn’t fully resonate with me. And so, I made the bold decision to navigate the uncertain path of alcohol-free living somewhat on my own.
I used my background in intrapersonal communication, personal development, spiritual study, and holistic life coaching to create a path to going alcohol-free that felt good for me. Without realizing what I was doing, I created a roadmap for other women who wanted to do the same.
Over the past few years, I’ve shared my knowledge and experience in a variety of ways. This year, I’m introducing something that’s taken me a long time to create: A Membership full of all of my favorite tools and resources for navigating an alcohol-free lifestyle and utilizing sobriety as your competitive edge in life. The way I see it, making the conscious decision to break up with alcohol is a pivotal step in breaking through to your best life and it is my honor to guide you on the path to unbottling your potential. If you’re wrapping up a sober stint and you’re wondering “what next?” please consider this your encouragement to keep going and your invitation to continue your journey in my Unbottled Potential Membership.