In December of 2023 I decided to go alcohol free for the following year. It was most decidedly not a New Year’s Resolution. Rather, it was a goal I tentatively verbalized in a year-end business planning meeting of all things. (My thought was if I said it out loud – in front of others – I’d have to do it.) A dear friend told me she would have much preferred to tell people after the fact so that if she didn’t do it, no one would know! Believe me, this occurred to me too. Nevertheless, I said it out loud.
I was inspired actually by a podcast on the topic of alcohol use – an interview with performance coach Andy Ramage. This particular segment occurred 10 years after he had given up alcohol for a year and hadn’t had so much as a sip since. In contrast to everything else I had read and heard about alcohol being toxic, even a potential carcinogen; a sleep disruptor; contributor to weight gain; creator of hangovers; and destroyer of relationships, Andy offered up all the benefits of living without alcohol.