A question came in from a reader (name withheld as requested):

Q:  What are the strategies you’re using to help you stop drinking?

Behold my completely unscientific, untested strategies:  

• I’m telling people I’m not drinking.  I don’t think I would’ve done this in the past.  I’d worry it would spark reactions in others.  After all, nothing divides the crowd like views about alcohol.  But now I’m doing the opposite.  I’m telling my friends, my family and this list.  The more people who know, the better.  It keeps me accountable and sets expectations upfront

• Accountability from my coach.  He knows this is a goal of mine.  Having him in my corner should be super helpful

• Habits are comfortable.  Changing a habit is not comfortable.  I’m trying to lean into this discomfort

• Removing myself from situations where I could be tempted to drink.  I’ve got to find a balance here (I know I won’t always get this right)

• More practical: non-alcoholic pints and drinking soft drinks from a gin goblet.  I read somewhere this helps to trick the brain.  Not sure if it will, but I’ll give it a go

Another question which came in yesterday:

Q:  You say that not drinking alcohol ties in to your value of freedom.  But if you don’t have the choice to drink alcohol next time you go to the pub, isn’t that the opposite of “freedom”?

Great question.

My take is this:

I want to be able to choose what I do, when I do it and how I do it.

This is how I think about freedom.  And why the 9 to 5 felt so jarring to me.

In fact I’d go one stage further.  Freedom also means the freedom to be who I want to be.

In this instance, I want to be someone who doesn’t drink.

But to do this, I need to commit to not drinking.

You could call this commitment self-control.  You could call it self-discipline.  But whatever you call it, you cannot be free without it.

Self-discipline and freedom are two sides of the same coin.  They have to exist together.

Same with most things. For instance, you cannot be financially free unless you have financial discipline.

It reminds me of a Gandhi quote: 

“Freedom without discipline is chaos.  Discipline without freedom is tyranny”.

I think that sums it up.

And on that note, it's time to bring this email to a close.

I'm off for a run.

Catch you tomorrow.

- Tom 

p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me