[realies]

Last night I was reading a story and it brought up an idea, since you have been sober or if you never drank , what has changed for the better in your life ?"
What I'm hoping to accomplish with this thread is to come here each day, or when the mood moves me, to document one thing each time that has changed for the better in my life as a result of Alcohol Free living. I thought a thread might be nice to try in case others want to do this too.

So....here goes for my first 1 thing post!

My life is better Alcohol Free because I can relate rationally to Mrs realies much more of the time


Anyone else?

[hubba]

Following on with Realies lovely idea, I value consistency in my new life.

If I promise to visit someone in three weeks time, I know I'll do it. Or if I plan exercise, say, next Saturday, I know there'll be no problem with doing it. There's no fear that I will back out due to hangover or low energy or an attack of paranoia from 'the guilts'.

So that means a lot to me, and those around me.

[Strawberry Fields]

I value going out and remembering where I've been and what happened even what
I had to eat and how much I spent and how much or little I enjoyed myself. Rather than it was great I don't remember a thing anything could have happened. Who knows.

[Dunny]

Might sound silly but I'm enjoying music alot more than I did while drinking.

[realies]

What I love the most about my alcohol free life is that I can face my family without being ashamed, And that I have more time on my hands to do something more productive. I sleep better and wake up happier ever since i've given up drinking.

[Bassfish]

Great idea for a thread, good to hear the positivity.

-What i love is being always able respond to situations and be available for people,
Take last Saturday night, my friend was in a crash on the M50, nothing too serious but his car was undriveable. He rang me to come and help him because he knew i wasn't going to be pissed off my head in some god awful pub. The week before, my sister had to go to England at a few hours notice and I was there to take care of my niece and nephew.
I love that, i love that people know they can depend on me to help them if they're in bother because they know i'm not going to be pissed or hungover.

-Not drinking puts the value of your time and money into perspective. Before i used to be like, €30 for a theatre ticket? that's very dear, €30 on a round of shots-No hassle boy! Insane when you think about it.

-I find that as much as some people judge you for not drinking, probably because you're causing them to take a look at their own habits, a lot of people have great respect for you and admire it. I work in a job where i have very serious responsibilities and i have to make important decisions every day. I work with a few people aged 21/22 (i'm 28) who are good at the job but by their own admission, are useless on mondays after their usual heavy weekends and often not too spritely on a friday morning either. This has not gone unnoticed by our line manager. Last thursday over lunch, one of the younger ones casually mentioned in front of the boss that they were meeting a friend for a few drinks that night. My boss had already asked her to take the lead in an important meeting Friday morning. About an hour later my boss rang the girl and said she had changed her mind and decided she wanted me to take the lead in the meeting. Couldn't help but think it was down to the fact she knew that i would be fresh and clear headed and the other one may not be. Long term when it comes to going for promotions, i think it will be good to have that reputation of dependability.

I think everyone should focus on what you GAIN by not drinking rather than what you're supposedly missing out on.

[kerryjack]

I Love to be able to sit in to my car and drive home without the fear of meting the cops I drive every where now, and could drive up to an hour to a good spot for a night out where before i would be stuck down in the local which was getting deader by the minute. but i did find some people would be using you for driving them home, the worst were probably family members who would be using you as local taxi service, but I put a stop to that fairly lively.

[emmabrighton]

Oh I like this idea. The biggest gain for me is knowing that since I have stopped drinking I can most honestly say I have done nothing that I should feel guilty for and I most definitely do not regret a single decision I have made or have the fear resulting from a night out, or worse still, a night in.

Having a good nights sleep every night is another bonus. Remember when you would drink all evening and even if you hit the hay at 10 and got up at 8 for work the next day you would still be hanging and longing for 5 and the end of work just so you could go home to bed? Well, I can and I am so happy that does not happen to me anymore. Like another poster said, I have become a much more responsible, dependable and efficient person since I no longer drink. I can only imagine that people prefer me the way I am to the drunken mess I used to be on a night out.

[realies]

Of course I love waking up with no hangover, But it goes beyond that, I wake up these days earlier than I need to, and sometimes sort of make myself stay in bed a little longer, I never want to forget how wonderful it is compared to a hangover, and the prospect of another wasted day dreaming about a Lie in "tomorrow."

Life is good.

[Rayanne2010]

I love living life instead of existing... too much time, effort and money spent "enjoying" myself - all centered around drink... when really I was medicating and trying to becoming the person who I wanted to be.. but now I am the person who i wanted to be.. no longer take short cuts.. i get there through emotionally working on myself...
loving life and nothing not even drink can give me this piece of mind!!!! ;o)

[realies]

I love feeling physically good - so very much better than the old drinking days. So many aches and pains are clearing up. I'm sure it has something to do with NOT poisoning myself everyday, and eating better and supplementing with good stuff and exercising. I love feeling good! And I'm happy because I think it's going to keep getting better & better.

Anyone anymore ?

[hubba]

I'm finding I can take on a lot more ... hobbies, favours for people, little projects, exercise, mental challenges.

It's a mixture of things feeling easier to achieve and my energy and focus levels being much increased. So, on a weekly basis, I want to take on more and more, I'm full of enthusiasm and actually getting excited about things again. I don't dread approaches to do something or go somewhere like I used to. Now I'm on the lookout for them.

[iusedtoknow]

I love the fact that I can be relied on and also can rely on myself

So much of my drinking life was taken up with me being in a pub or terrace drinking. Nothing in my life has changed really, i meet my friends in the same bars, have some 0% and then go off and get on with things, instead of heading home and sitting on the couch all evening with a take away

Since quitting drinking I have successfully trained for and ran a 10k
been the "go-too" guy for friends on numerous occasions, purely because they knew I was avaliable to help out when needed
slept better than ever before
lost weight
become a much better husband

in short, i've become who I want to be with only 1 minor change - quit drinking

[a fat guy]

I managed to give up a host of other things that were bad for me, videogames, bad foods, etc.

I have also taken up a lot more hobbies that I normally wouldn't have bothered with, such as the harmonica, drawing and actually studying during my summer holidays! One of the best things I ever did was kicking the stuff...

[Cushtie]

off the top of my head

1. waking up on a Saturday morning and not dying with a hangover and actually getting stuff done
2. not wasting the whole weekend because of the above
3. not been all depressed by Sunday evening cause of both of the above
4. More money in my pocket
5. mentally much much more switched on.


there are loads more but though...