I love this post! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve been dialing back my consumption for a while now, with periods of sobriety in between. All of the things you say about clarity are true. But they don’t always keep me from wanting to drink.
Lately, I’ve realized something - I hate going to bed after drinking. Even just two or three drinks. I hate everything about it, the smell that permeates everything even if you brush your teeth and drink tons of water, the fitfulness, the dreams. I still enjoy the feeling of 3 drinks, but remembering how gross I feel when I wake in the middle of the night with that stale, nasty smell emanating from me keeps me from diving in.
The physical cons of drinking soooo outweigh the pros.