Journey to Future Freedom

Tag: time

  • Why did I choose a Friday?

    What was I thinking when I decided to stop drinking on a Friday…The one day of the week that I have almost always had a drink. I definitely can’t say that it was an easy weekend.

    I have had weird cravings for things that I have never wanted before. I bought myself a can of ‘V’. I haven’t had an energy drink in probably 20 years but felt I really wanted it. The first mouthful was nice but then I struggled my way through the rest of the can. I won’t be buying that again.

    It got me thinking about my alcohol drinking. The first glass is always lovely but after that I just keep drinking it because it is open and I have no self control.

    My sleep has been terrible, although a sick dog really added to that. So I can’t really assume that that is the fault of not drinking, They say you sleep better when you don’t drink so I am hoping that my sleep will improve over the week.

    I need to find some things to occupy myself in the evenings. I have about three books I have started and not finished so I will begin there. But I will happily take on suggestions- No crafts please.

    Hopefully the 5pm cravings die down soon.

  • Alcohol….reasons I’m giving it up!For Good!

    I have been toying with this idea for at least the last ten years. I have known since our children were young that my relationship with alcohol would be described as dysfunctional.

    I don’t drink everyday and there have been periods of time over the years where I’m have not drunk for months or weeks but I’m always go back to it and once I pop out can’t stop.

    I grew up with an alcoholic father. It didn’t really affect my life hugely as he was not nasty or violent. He was just a drunk that had nothing. The kindest drunk I knew. When I was 21 he went into liver failure and ended up giving up alcohol. He received a new liver and managed 10 more years of life before dying of cancer. I’ve seen first hand the toll alcohol can take on the mind and the body.

    But back to me. My reasons. There are so many.

    My daughter hates me drinking and as she gets older it is starting to have an impact on our relationship.

    It is definitely affecting my health. In the past five years I have put on 15kg mostly in the form of calories from wine.

    It steals my motivation. Five years ago I was running half marathons and playing with the idea of running a full. Now I’d be lucky if I could run to the end of the road.

    It steals my time. I do things while drinking but not well. The time I spend drinking in the evenings could definitely be used doing other things. Running maybe.

    I’m literally flushing money down the toilet. It is so expensive. I hate to think how much money I have wasted over the years. Thousands!

    So it’s time for change. I know it won’t be easy but I set out this year to find freedom and this is definitely going to be freeing. I’m excited to see what it will look like

    “I officially NO LONGER DRINK ALCOHOL!”

  • Is kids sport worth it?

    This is our 14 year old son. He begged from the age of 6 to be allowed to ride Moto. We managed to say no for another 4 years. Looking back on this decision I have no idea why we said no. I think it was some preconceived ideas about the cost and danger involved.

    Yes it’s dangerous ! Yes it’s damn expensive! Yes it is really cold in Winter! Yes it’s really hot in Summer! Yes he is making friends for life! Yes he loves it!

    Yesterday we were up at crazy O’clock to head out of town to a Motocross event. This is our weekend most weekends. I found myself wondering why we do it? Chances are he will never be number one. I have no idea what skills this is teaching him that he might use in the future as he has no idea what he wants to do. Are there other things I could be doing with tens of thousands of dollars a year?

    There are days like yesterday when he comes off the track buzzing. Has great races and finishes with a podium and his body intact. Laughs with his mates and we all celebrate victories.

    Then there are days when he crashes, things don’t go right, things get damaged and a body worn down. It’s not just sore muscles the next day but bruises too… I don’t know if I would get back on the bike after these days but he does…every time.

    He is developing the virtues of resilience, courage, commitment, determination, perseverance, responsibility and self- discipline. Is that what sport is about- creating an avenue to develop strengths and weaknesses. If that is the case then yes it is worth it.

  • Constraints!

    After a few days pondering what freedom means to me my thoughts mostly keep coming back to the things that hold me back in life. My constraints, the opposite of freedom. I want to be free from the things that I feel hold me back.

    So what are my constraints…

    Alcohol- I drink far too often and I lost time, money and moments.

    Finance- while we are fairly comfortable I would like to have more financial freedom, especially in regard to semi retiring or early retirement.

    Time- I always feel like I am rushing. Rushing to get to the next activity, meeting. Never really enjoying the moment, always thinking about the next thing.

    Thoughts- seems weird to have come up with this as a constraint. But I realise I spend so much time thinking about certain things. Things that occupy far too much brain space. I often spend more time thinking about something than actually doing it. Those tasks that take 5 minutes but you actually spend far longer than that revisiting it in your head.

    So as we head into Winter here in New Zealand I am going to revisit these constraints and work on become free from them. Hmmm a Winter without alcohol, how much time and money I will save.