Sober Snacks #9

Bite size tips & stories to help you not drink today. For the sober and sober curious looking for digestible, on-the-go sober-positive content. These are the stories and lifestyle tips of people who don’t drink. Enjoy :)

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When asked “what can I get you to drink?”, you say:

“Do you have seltzer water?”

What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?

In my healing journey, my spiritual healing has been significant to me.

The first book I recommend is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It changed my daily practice while being a simple read. It’s truly helped me become more reflective and ask myself important questions, like, “Is this REALLY about me?” Whenever I got upset with someone.

The other book I love sharing is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It took me about three attempts to feel comfortable with the content finally, but I find the messages about being present incredibly helpful. It’s easy to feel “stuck” in the past as a person in recovery, and reading this text helped me see there is no point in being trapped by my mistakes.

The last book I recommend, which is definitely a dense read, is The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk. Though a lot of it was emotionally challenging to read, I learned much more about how my body has absorbed the past and how I can work to free myself from it.

Within your sobriety, what is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.)

My best investment has been putting my time and money into myself. Since getting sober, I have invested in coaching, personal training, and therapy. All of these cost a lot of money, but the value of my long-term benefits is well worth it.

I didn’t know how to exercise correctly, so exercise and personal training has given me a great outlet. Having a coach of my own helps me work every day toward designing a life aligned with what I want for my future. Going to therapy has given me the tools to heal from the things that once made me want to drink.

The benefits of all these investments will include a happy, healthy, and hopefully long life, so it’s been well worth every cent.

What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love and only discovered after you got into sobriety?

I definitely think the amount of seltzer water I consume is ridiculous, especially considering how much I used to HATE it when I drank!

Which area has changed the most, and for the better, in sobriety: health, wealth, relationships, or spirituality?

My confidence has greatly improved in my recovery. In the past, I used to feel more like a phony: I knew how to be good at things and “look the part” so that people would overlook the red flags in my drinking behavior. I knew how to check off people’s boxes as being “okay.”

Now, I am freed from worrying as much about what others think, and I can show up more authentically. It’s not 100% of the time, but cutting out alcohol has helped that improve significantly!

When someone asks you, “why don’t you drink,” what do you say?

If it’s a casual conversation in passing, I just said, “I’m in recovery so I don’t drink.”

If they have the time, I will keep it VERY real and tell them that alcohol almost killed me and that, to me, it’s deadly. I don’t hide why I don’t drink. I’m proud of where I’ve been, where I am today, and where I am going.