145. Are you ready?

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Hello, darling heart, and welcome to this episode of the drink less, live better podcast.

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This is the podcast that helps you to see that drinking less doesn't need to be stressful, lonely, or boring.

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I'm your host, Sarah Williamson, and I decided to have a year alcohol free as a little life experiment and haven't looked back.

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I'm a best selling author, expert speaker, corporate workshop facilitator, and life coach.

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I'm here to support you with your alcohol free or drink less adventures.

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To keep up to date, be sure to follow me on Instagram at drink less, live better, and head to the website, drink less, live

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better.com, where you'll be able to sign up to the 5 day drink less experiment, find blog posts, and you can choose to join

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the email club where I share resources, wisdom, insights, and glimmers of hope and joy. I hope you enjoy this episode. Let's get straight to it. Are you ready? Are you? What are you ready for?

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At this time of year there's a lot of talk about being ready for the year ahead and I'm not quite sure I'm totally ready for the whole year just yet.

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In fact, full disclosure, I'm not entirely ready for today.

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What I am ready for is what I think is coming. What does ready really mean?

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Well, here are a couple of definitions.

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It's to be in a suitable state for action, situation or experience, to be fully prepared, to be prepared mentally or physically

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for something, to be prepared for immediate use, and in such a condition as to be likely to do something.

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I like that last one, to be likely to do something. Let's see now.

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What's the difference between someone and something being ready?

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If someone is ready they are properly prepared for something, and if something is ready it has been properly prepared and is now able to be used.

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So I know I can be physically ready, but I might need work to be emotionally ready, or perhaps I still need equipment, or maybe resources still need gathering.

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I made a decision towards the end of 2023 that's requiring a lot of my brain space at the moment.

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It's one of those decisions that's involving quite a lot of mental wrangling and feeling like I'm taking 5 steps backward before I can actually move forward.

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Some of the backwards involves examining some long held beliefs and unthinking of my thoughts.

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I'm feeling okay about it all now, but I have been a bit overwhelmed.

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When I get overwhelmed, one of the things I tend to do is procrastinate, so I ended up googling run up techniques, would you believe?

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Did you know that athletic events which would require a planned run up include the long and triple jump, the high jump, the

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pole vault, the javelin, 104 100 meter hurdles, and the steeplechase, all involve a build up of controlled speed. That's me right now.

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I am getting ready to build controlled speed for 2024.

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Did you also know the taller the athlete, the longer the run up, and vice versa for shorter competitors?

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That fact made me snort, laugh, tea out of my nose.

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I would be the shortest of short competitors in any athletic event.

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And so I'm just taking this as my sign.

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I don't need quite as long a run up as I thought I did.

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I just need to get as close to ready as possible.

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A lot of the time we're nearly ready and that might be just good enough.

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I don't know how often I'm ever completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress, but I am equipped

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with key skills I think I may need to survive and thrive when the next personal or professional opportunity is presented.

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Today, I'm moving myself towards ready by learning some of the skills I need for what's coming next, by carefully thinking

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through some of the opinions I've strongly held, by practicing the art and science of what I believe, by making some solid

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plans, by setting some personal aspirations and intentions, by getting the hardest tasks done, by focusing on short term tasks,

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and also putting fun, joyful, and exciting bookings into my calendar for the year ahead, by paying for help and asking support

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for when I need and want it, by allowing the time for a rest, by accepting and enjoying the idea that the week, the month,

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and the year will always contain change that we might just never be ready for?

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So I ask myself whether or not I'm ready, and, yes, I'm ready for so many of the good things coming my way.

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There's a few things I'm building towards ready, and there are also some people and places that are not quite ready for me, and that's okay too.

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We are not all ready at the same time. One quick note.

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If you're listening to this today with your drink less, alcohol free, sober, questioning head on, you either are ready, ready

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for today, or not quite ready yet, and any and all of these situations are okay. You are okay. Thank you for listening in today. Come back again next week.

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I'd massively appreciate it if you could subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.

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Well, do that if you love it, obviously.

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If you didn't love it, you wouldn't still be listening at this point, so I think I'm ask safe asking for your help right now.

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Check out the show notes for a link to a hidden podcast episode that will help you with your 5 PM cravings and details about

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my one to one life coaching and sober coaching programmes. And PS, I believe in you.