156. Alcohol Free April

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Hello, darling heart, and welcome to this episode of the drink less, live better podcast. This is the podcast that helps you

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to see that drinking less doesn't need to be stressful, lonely, or boring. I'm your host, Sarah Williamson, and I decided

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to have a year alcohol free as a little life experiment and haven't looked back. I'm a best selling author, expert speaker,

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and life coach. I'm here to champion you with your alcohol free or drink less adventures. Give me a follow on Instagram at

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drink less, live better, or check out the website at drink less live better dot com, where you will be able to sign up to

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the 5 day drink less experiment, find blog posts, and you can choose to join the email club where I share resources, wisdom,

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insights and glimmers of hope and joy. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Let's get straight to it. Alcohol free, April. Yeah.

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I know it's not really a thing, but perhaps we can make it a thing together. When is a good time to take a break from alcohol?

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I mean, that sounds like the setup for a hilarious joke, doesn't it? Only it's not. It's just a question born out of curiosity.

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When is a good time? For me, the answer is always now. Oh, God. As I say that out loud, I do shudder. I've got something I

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want to get started on and I keep putting it off. I know the answer for that is to start now, but I am worried about it. Anyway,

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I digress. I am gonna start that thing. We're talking about taking a break from alcohol today. So apart from right now, and

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apart from yesterday, because that also would have been good, when else do we put a line in the sand? Okay. Let's look really

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closely to the future and plan furiously, strategically and cleverly for that. I give you alcohol free April. Here we have

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a long weekend, and the 1st of the month falls on a Monday. What better signs do you need than this? Imagine starting on April

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Fools' Day, and you'll be anything but a fool. The 1st April is the start of the Q2 of the year. We're done with winter now.

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This is beautiful spring, and your body will thank you for supporting its cell renewal, its growth, the celebration of all

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the good things that are coming for you for the rest of this year. If you've been listening for a while, you'll already know

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alcohol consumption has detrimental effects on your physical and mental health. Do yourself a massive favor now by having

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a break for from it just for a month. That's all I'm suggesting. Without the influence of alcohol, you will find it easier

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to think more clearly, process your emotions effectively, and consider what your well-being goals are going to be for the

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month ahead. Spring is a brilliant time to think about your social connections. Can you engage in activities that don't revolve

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around alcohol? What shared hobbies, outdoor adventures, or meaningful conversations can you enjoy with your friends? And

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what new activities can you find in your area to join in with? Spring is a great time for exploring this stuff. Taking a break

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from alcohol often means a bit of introspection and self discovery. Can you take the chance to reflect on your relationship

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with alcohol over the years? How have things changed for you? Can you identify the times of excessive drinking and explore

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different coping mechanisms you might use going forward. Have you got young people in your life? Will you be seeing friends

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or family, children or teenagers over this Easter weekend? Choosing not to drink sends a powerful message to others. Most

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young people see adults around them drinking to a greater or lesser extent. I love being the example that someone I know might

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point to and say, well, she doesn't drink, and she looks like she's living a fun life. I suppose I'm daydreaming here. They

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may also say, she doesn't drink, and she's no fun at all. I refer you to an earlier episode called what other people think.

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It's episode number 52 if you wanna give it a listen. The ripple effect. Let's promote a culture of wellness, one where we

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say, yeah, alcohol wasn't fitting in with my health goals, so actually I've cut it out for now. Oh, and you think other people

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might have an opinion on your health goals? Also, not your worry. They'll either keep their opinion to themselves, let's hope

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so, or they'll share their opinion, and maybe you can shrug and walk away. So that's my hard sell on an alcohol free April.

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Obviously, it's not a hard sell. It's a scattering of suggestions, a sharing of strategies, and a bit of support if you need

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or want that right now. My 30 day alcohol free program starts guess when? Yeah. The 1st April. Sign up via the link in the

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show notes. You'll get a daily email from me with resources to read, watch, listen to, or action, and I'm at the end of that

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email every day to answer your questions and cheer you on. We'll also have 4 1 hour long Zoom calls over the course of the

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month, 1 a week. We'll talk take each week to plan your actions, talk about how alcohol has got you to where it has right

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now, and how you are positively and carefully moving forward. A whole month of super focused accountability. Should we do

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this together? The link is in the show notes, or ping me an email if you've got any questions. Thank you for listening in

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today. Come back again next week. Today's show notes include a link to the alcohol free April programme and also my 90 day

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programme. PS, I believe in you.