FreeOwl

I know a lot of my posts and offerings are sort of squishy, feel-goody, inspirational and even poetic.

So, I hope you'll indulge me the occasional edginess.

Today I want to share something pretty straightforward:

IT'S NOT THAT TOUGH

Now before you rail at me or come down on yourself - set aside your reaction if you will and stay with me here.


You don't need to waste time 'figuring out why'.

You don't need to wait until it becomes unbearably awful.

You don't need to have the perfect set of conditions.

You don't need to wait 'until ________________ so I can quit'.

You don't need to 'understand' what drove you to drink in the first place.

You don't need to complicate it.

You don't.


ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS CHOOSE TO EMBRACE SOBRIETY.

Right now.

Not tomorrow.

Not next week.

Not someday.

Right NOW, from wherever you are.

Then you just need to follow that choice with ACTION that supports it.

And just keep making that decision. All day long, all night long, each moment if you must.

It's hard - yes - but not that tough.

You can do it.

You can.

Just DO it.

biminiblue

Cosigned.

ScottFromWI

“Figuring out why” was my excuse/issue. I thought if I found out “why” that I could fix it and be a normal drinker again.

ljc267

excuses are an alcoholics best friend.

JJ991

Lie: I couldn't possibly give up drinking while I was going through so much sh*t, alcohol helped me deal with it all.

Truth: alcohol meant I couldn't possibly deal with anything, it was making it worse.

That was my favourite lie!

Nonsensical

I think I used all those excuses at one time or another.
I also would have read this post and thought that FeeOwl is a jackwagon! He doesn't know ME!

He and I are still strangers, but that addiction we have in common is all too familiar.

markinny

procrastinating was a biggy for me......it's hunting season..it's the holidays..it's ice fishing time..it's march madness (love march madness)..it's spring...who gets sober during the summer? actually had people say that to me. holy crap it's hunting season again. for some reason these events happen every year. I could never figure that one out.

great post !

lessgravity

Both agree and disagree with this one. I don't think it's worth my time or efforts to figure out why I drank so fking much that I cosign.

But the how I'm not going to and the why I'm not going to and the ends of not drinking I do like to read and think and explore because those thoughts aid and strengthen me. But that's just me.

FreeOwl

the how and the why I'm not going to and the reading and thinking and exploring are all examples of the ACTIONS I take. I do that stuff too.... not suggesting that's not important.

Just tryn'a boil it down to the fundamentals.

Choose.
Act.
Repeat.

lessgravity

word

Trohyn

If I substitute the word tough with difficult, I can agree with all of that.

thomas11

Great post FO. I agree 100%. We can him and haw about sobriety for 20 years, but its that giant leap of faith that one day you put your foot down and say "NO MORE" that the progress starts. And its not that tough.

Mick75

I really like this, hunting season was a big excuse of mine for years. What's hunting camp if I can't get drunk and play cards. Stupid isn't it! It was always another excuse to not quit, not get to AA.
Great post!
Mick

FreeOwl

yes!!

where I grew up hunting camp wasn't hunting camp unless you were vomiting on the way out to the blind in the morning and blind drunk again by evening....... so dumb.

MindfulMan

I am no longer a drinker. Pure and simple. No exceptions.

Delizadee

I just... jackwagon omg that sooo made my day.
Jackwagon. I say that all the time.

I totally agree. The one difficulty is when you drink yourself into dependence that it's difficult to quit without proper medical help or support.

Other than that, I had one man that I went and had blueberry pancakes with him and his wife after a Sunday meeting. And this guy was so straight up that I just loved him.
I believe I talked about a relapse, and he interrupted me and said, " NO, there is no slips, no falling off the wagon, no relapses. You chose to drink. End point. " He is a ratchety old, stubborn, outspoken, and completely honest about his feelings on alcoholism after I vaguely remember 30 some odd years of sobriety.
You can split hairs about why you're drinking, at the end of the day,
it was a bad choice that sent you down a hole you are well aware of how bad it can get.

And I was like, yep.
That first drink is always a choice.
The blueberry pancakes were amazing, so was the whole visit.

That statement, has always stuck with me.
More than anything else.

I suppose I should visit them.

As always FreeOwl, you're great.

FreeOwl

it's true tho....

I'm a total jackwagon.

Horn95

That’s funny and sad!

CaliButterfly

I've never quite understood the need to know "why". It doesn't change anything or make sobriety any more attainable. FO, love the post. When your desire for sobriety exceeds your attachment to booze (or other addictions), it really isn't all that hard, fundamentally. Thanks for the inspiration!

tnek97

Very true.

My excuse was the fear of missing out. FOMO. And it was so powerful, and it kept me drinking, and it was a LIE.

You can have fun sober. You can go on vacation sober. See friends, go out to dinner, go to concerts, celebrate the holidays, fly on planes, go to business events...sober.

These "fears" kept me drinking for much longer than I wanted to. How can I quit when this event, or that event is coming up? What will other people say when I don't drink?

Well, quit drinking, embrace sobriety, and find out. It's actually not that scary on the other side. It's actually much more fun.