"Do you still crave alcohol?" asked a friend recently.
We had been enjoying a coffee together, solving the worlds problems, and catching up after a long absence period, mainly caused by adult things such as working too much, time getting away from us, and being busy doing, well, busy things. It was good to see her.
"Nope!" I said confidently, "Just the same as I never crave a cigarette." I cleared an area on our table as the coffee shop owner laid down a couple of pieces of his legendary three tier courgette cake. Or zucchini cake, to my American friends.
But then I found myself thinking, isn't it weird that people question you about your decision with alcohol all the time, but not things like giving up smoking, or giving up drugs, or eating cake.
The issue is, if you are still drinking, then you do not know or understand the harm that alcohol is doing. We have been brainwashed by powerful marketing messages to believe alcohol is "A Very Good Thing Indeed". We have been brainwashed by decades of foodie TV shows pairing that meal with an "essential" wine - can you smell notes of Cedar and Toffee Apple? Hell no. If I hadn't trained my palette to enjoy wine years ago, I'd spit it out instantly. It actually tastes awful. Just remember your face when your parents first gave you a taste of wine or beer. Remember that? As a child of the 70s and 80s, I do. It was vile, and my face said that too. As young adults we literally have train ourselves to like alcohol.
We have also been brainwashed by years of watching parents, family members, friends and colleagues chug alcohol like it's important. And choosing gin like they know what they are doing, and it's not actually just a few drops of ethanol, same stuff you put in your car, sugared out to make it taste a little better, and coloured pink, perhaps. Just add that slice of cucumber and you definitely know what you're doing, eh? Hmmm.
As I sliced my fork into a deliciously soft, squishy piece of cake, and lifted it to my mouth, I thought back to when I used to drink. Today would have been impossible, of course. I'd have been busy nursing a hangover, or broke because I'd just spent £170, or $200, on a single night out. Most of the money would have been spent on ridiculously expensive gin and tonics, and the rest on taxis between venues and a taxi back home again. I cut into the cake again, and then savoured the combination of creamy sponge cake, crunchy walnuts and buttery cream frosting on my tongue. Heavenly, heavenly cake. And I realised I am so much better off, financially, now I do not drink. I can afford to do this every day, if I please. Now that I am not wasting money on pouring poison down my throat, only to throw it back up again later that night, sometimes. Future generations will look at us now, and think we are all absolutely bonkers for doing this, of course. I look forward to the day our kids reject alcohol.
I looked up at my friend, and grinned to her.
"Actually, when I was drinking, I spent most of my days craving exactly what I have right now." I said, and cut off another piece of that delicious cake.
Would you love for the cravings of a normal life to be satisfied at last? No white-knuckling, no joining Alcoholics Anonymous, no regrets, just a lot of fun, a lot of discovery, and a huge shift in your life that you will never, ever regret? Working together, I can help speed up your journey to this amazing place, where alcohol will no longer bother you in the slightest. Alcohol will be minuscule and irrelevant. You're worth the investment, and ultimately you will save so much money.
Book a discovery call to find out more.
I hope to meet you soon,
Amanda x
