Photo by Rachel Cook
Experiment: No Alcohol for 1 Year!
Ok, so why…
- The idea scares/excites me a bit, which has always been a strong indicator of a worthy challenge.
- I’ve always had achievement-based goals like school grades, getting into a good college, getting a respectable job, earning my MBA, getting promoted, completing marathons and triathlons, getting married, and having kids. Now that I’ve achieved these, I still want to keep my discipline sharp. As a parent with less time to do additive goals, subtractive goals have become more attractive. I can still grow through habits like fasting for 24 hours every other week, no social media in the bathroom or in bed, and now this experiment.
- I want to be more focused on both building desired habits and relationships, and alcohol is an unnecessary distraction that doesn’t add much to either of these and often detracts from them.
- I want to avoid the easy out of escaping emotions and the hard realities of life. Books and limited TV will be my escape hatches without altering the state of my mind and body.
- This will only benefit my sleep hygiene and overall health.
- In my significant reduction of drinking over the past two years, I’ve already found I don’t miss it, I’ve lost a bit of a taste for it—wine in particular—and on several occasions, I have felt tired or generally poorly enough the next day that I really regretted having anything to drink.
While I’m down to only about 1 drink/week, there’s nothing like a full detox for the liver. The last full year in which I didn’t consume alcohol I was 24 years (or over ½ my lifetime) ago!
About that…
Alc-ternatives and the bennies/costs of those:
- I haven’t needed to do much to replace my reduced consumption over the past 2 years. So, this comes down to moments when I nearly always have a drink (special occasions, holidays, date nights) and what to do then.
- For date nights, I won’t have to explain anything, we’ll still have fun, and maybe I’ll remember more of the night. I’ll be more aware and present. If available, I can replace drinks with mocktails or a decaf coffee or tea.
- I will miss it a bit on special occasions, like my birthday and any big parties we attend in 2025.
- However, that gives me more leeway to pick a fun and more engaging way to celebrate my birthday, like an escape room or a big hike, that I wouldn’t necessarily do while/after drinking.
- For parties, it’s often been a crutch as a social lubricant and liquid courage for going all out on the dance floor. My self-confidence has grown over the years, and I don’t need it for that reason anymore. I’ve also been dancing so regularly in an expanding variety of settings that I don’t need the liquid courage for this anymore either.
- If I want to feel “festive,” I can order a mocktail or N/A beer.
- It might be a little sad to not have a drink on our anniversary, but my husband is joining me on this journey (woo hoo!) and we can still toast whatever beverage we’re having. In fact, if we’re at home we can bust out the Tiffany’s champagne flutes and enjoy our drink of choice in those for fun.
- What about holidays, hangs with friends, and random long “pour me something strong” days?
- Holidays – this is the first thing that came to mind that made me hesitate to embrace this plan. It’s a time away from work to relax, bond, and have fun with my family and our extended families.
- Sharing wine and—for me and my dad, father-in-law, and brothers-in-law—bourbon are typically parts of this. I had one more chance this past December before starting the experiment in 2025 and barely had any bourbon across the festivities.
- My parents often have Partake—a non-alcoholic beer I enjoy—on hand, so that will help too.
- Will and I may will test out and maybe introduce our family to some or our favorite N/A spirits, wine, or beer.
- I’m not promising to give this up forever—just a year. In the end, it’s my call and everyone will understand or at least respect my decision. It may even influence their behavior, which would be a win.
- Hangs with friends – this one is easy because none of our friends are big drinkers anymore. It’s likely a life stage thing and, since they nearly all have kids, they don’t want to be hungover while trying to manage caring for and chauffeuring kids around all day (on weekends). They will all completely get it.
- Random long days – I don’t have a strong answer for this, but I’m also not too worried about it. Based on my past experiences of foregoing a food/beverage/activity, I adopt a new mindset and identity as a person who “doesn’t do ____ right now.” I’ve even done this with alcohol before for a shorter period and did not have any trouble.
- Holidays – this is the first thing that came to mind that made me hesitate to embrace this plan. It’s a time away from work to relax, bond, and have fun with my family and our extended families.
Last Call…
Want to join me on this journey? It doesn’t matter if you’ve already had drinks this year or even today. Just start tomorrow, and give it up for the rest of the year. It helps to get clear for yourself and others on why you’re doing it. In case any of my reasons resonate with you, here’s a brief AI-generated distillation of my decision to give up alcohol for a year in 2025, based on my points above:
“I’m taking on the challenge of going alcohol-free for all of 2025 as a way to sharpen my discipline and push myself out of my comfort zone. It’s not just about health benefits, though there are plenty – better sleep, improved liver function, and overall well-being. I want to focus more on my goals and relationships without the distraction of alcohol. Plus, I’ve noticed I don’t really miss it much anyway. It’s a chance to face life’s challenges head-on without using alcohol as an escape. This experiment is my way of continuing personal growth and maintaining my edge, especially now that I have less time for other big achievements. It’s been over two decades since I’ve had a full year without alcohol, so I’m excited to see how this journey unfolds!”
Stay tuned for a post around the end of this year when I’ll share how it went. As always, thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback, what you think my next experiment should be, or to just let me know you stopped by. It would make my day.