19. New season, new beginnings

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Hello darling heart and welcome to the drink less live better podcast. This is the podcast that helps you to see that drinking

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less doesn't need to be stressful, lonely or boring. I'm your host Sarah Williamson and I decided to have a year alcohol free

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as a little life experiment and haven't looked back. With my experience and training, I now help other women with their alcohol

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free or drink less adventures. I'm here to tell you that you can relax, connect and have fun without alcohol in your life.

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Join me here each week to find out how. Today I'd like to tell you a story about new beginnings. I love the turning of a season,

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a new month, a new notebook, a blank page, an opportunity to draw a line underneath something and crack on with the next exciting

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bit. I hang out in lots of places online and in real life where a big deal is made about starting points, where there is a

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lot of talk about making a change and picking a future date to dig in and get started, and that's truly great if that works

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for you. Ultimately, picking a future date for changes in my life is a bit of an anti climax. For me, now, today, positive

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forward action and momentum works really, really well. My experience of choosing a date to make the significant life change

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of being alcohol free for 1 year went a bit unexpectedly. In 2019 I had begun to cut my drinking down significantly. I was

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considering my next step and had got my head around the idea of a year without alcohol, but I was waiting until the end of

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December to start. In my mind, a year has a very clear beginning and end, 1st January to 31st December. Right? All new things

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must start on the 1st January. It's a rule of life, isn't it? It's called a new year resolution for a reason. Now depending

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on what source you want to believe, as many as 80% of new year resolutions come to a sticky end in the month of January, so

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your success rate isn't looking good before you even begin. During 2019 I had the realisation that there was no point in waiting

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for the right moment to start my alcohol free experiment. The only time I would be truly ready was now. If I hung on, there

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would be a wedding, a birthday, a Friday night, or coming right up was Christmas, New Year, and whatever other reason I could

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possibly come up with. I came to the conclusion that if I started today, then I could get all the slightly tricky Christmas

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events under my belt and then start January feeling a little bit smug, and as if all of the hard events had already been tackled

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alcohol free. For me, new beginnings happen when they feel good. A change of season always feels optimistic in my mind and

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a time to take that blank sheet and rewrite the story. I'm making some habit changes this season, and I'm already fully invested

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and know I'll be successful in what I've chosen. I've got something in mind that I feel excited about, something that is good

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for my mind, body, and soul, and I know will bring me joy. My alcohol free life experiment continues and now allows me the

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opportunity to add other great things into my life that I didn't quite have the time or inclination for before. Although I

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was outwardly happy looking a couple of years ago, I was lacking a bit of joy. Now I have joy by the bucket load and it allows

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my life life to be so much more expansive. If there's a new beginning itching to get out of you, allow it. Listen to your

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intuition. Give yourself space. Be bold if it's something you think other people may have an opinion about. What other people

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think of us or our ideas is always none of our business. You pick your lane and you stay in it. If you need help or support

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to be successful with your new beginning, then look for the other people who have already got some of what you want. You'll

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find them. Your people are out there doing the same thing as you in their own way. Follow, like, engage with them, and feel

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the good stuff coming to you. Thank you for listening to this episode. Please listen in again next time. You can sign up to

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my 5 day drink less experiment and find out about working with me one to 1 at drink less live better dotcom. It would make

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me happier than a Buddhist monk if you would please subscribe, 5 star review, and leave a lovely comment about this podcast

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on whatever platform you listen. Imagine it like the tasting notes on the finest wine I am never going to drink. Thank you.

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And PS, I believe in you.