Adam Smith

I’m 2.5 years alcohol free now and here’s the most honest breakdown I can give if you’re sober curious.

I go on lots of podcasts and get asked questions re alcohol free. So here are the FAQ’s.

Q- Why did you stop?
A-It was negatively impacting every area of my life.

Q-Was it hard to stop?
A-Absolutely. It was easier for me as I stopped in lockdown and I used to drink to be social. I was never a drink at home kind of guy.

Q-How do you stop?
A-Get rid of all the booze in your house, take a 30 day break, avoid pubs and bars where possible in that time, focus on something else.

Q-How do you socialise without it?
A-Use effective communication with your friends and tell them why you’re stopping.

Q-Best way to cope when cravings kick in?
A-Habit hack and have alcohol free alternatives. Are they the same? No. Are they better than causing you endless problems? Absolutely.

Q-Are there downsides?
A-Of course. You become more aware of your emotions and you have more time to process them. It can be very painful but will serve you in the longtime.

Q-What are the benefits?
A-They’re endless. Health, sleep, relationships, finances, mental clarity to name a few.

Q-When did it click for you to change?
A-When my family let me know it was impacting them and the doctor told me I would be dead in 10 years if I didn’t stop.

Q-Will you lose friends?
A-No. You will lose loads of acquaintances though that you thought were true friends.

Q-How do you handle it when your friends and family don’t understand your sobriety?
A-Create empathy for them, unfortunately alcohol plays a huge part of our lives in the western world. They will be fearful of losing you or not hanging out with you anymore. It will also show their insecurities.

Q-What would you say to anyone that is thinking of stopping?
A-Do it, it’s the best thing you’ll ever do.

Q-Will you go back to drinking?
A-All I know is I won’t drink today. Something I’ve repeated for 2.5 years.

If someone is looking to stop please don’t quiz them on it. If people do ask, approach it calmly.

Alcohol free living is the best decision I ever made and it might just change your life.

#alcoholfree #soberlife

The main lessons I’ve learnt from being sober at weddings,

The days start like most, fresh faced happy people with love in their heart and a spring in their step.

Fast forward 9 hours and it’s littered with drama, tears, vomit and ties around your head chanting arctic monkeys. (If you can’t beat them, join them)

I had a great time, observing the crowd like David Attenborough documenting the wild.

Here are the lessons I learnt,

1. Becks blue still tastes like the urine of a dehydrated moose.

2. They only have 2-3 bottles in the whole venue and once it’s gone it’s gone.

3. People will ask you why you don’t drink with the the same judgement as if I said I kick puppies for a living.

4. When you explain why you don’t drink they put on a high pitched “good for you” and excessive head nodding with all the sincerity of a love island contestant declaring their love after 3 days.

5. You can still dance and have a good time when sober, socialising is like any skill. It takes work.

6. The bar staff will just keep serving people until they actually fall over or throw up. Or both.

7. When someone buys shots they must yell “oi oi” after it to assert their dominance of the room.

8. There’s always one helmet that takes it too far. They’re usually the one crying into an ash tray at the end of the night telling anyone that will listen about how he could have made it as a footballer if it wasn’t for his “injury”

9. You’ll start yawning and dreaming of your bed at approximately 9pm.

10. It’s a great experience with its challenges but you get to be fully present with those you care about and get to wake up without a hangover. You can also have fun without making a complete tit of yourself. Who knew?

Have you attended a wedding sober? How did you get on? Comment below

P.s. If you’re sick of being that helmet at weddings/social occasions and want to stop drinking then message me with the word “ready”

#soberliving #executivecoaching