Starting Over…And Over.
Maybe Day 1 wasn’t a total success in your eyes. Maybe you had every intention but the Badgers were on, you had a party to go to, there was a wedding. Whatever. Even if you didn’t go alcohol-free yesterday, Sober October is more about changing your relationship with alcohol than it is TOTAL perfection. For us perfectionists, that’s a hard sip to swallow. But, there’s no reason to throw in the towel just yet. Even if it wasn’t perfect, the though likely crossed your mind and that’s all we can ask for.
You can choose to start again today! You’re still an amazing human. You’re not ousted from the tribe. You can still read along, still join the email lists, still get up and try again. Don’t wait until November just because you think you failed. You didn’t and I’m going to tell you why in the next couple of weeks, so stick around.
Now, if you did ended up abstaining from alcohol or reducing your intake yesterday, amazing! One day down! What does Day 2 bring?
Day 2 can be a lot like Day 1 with tons of motivation and a gusto to make some changes. In my first few days, and I had many, I cleaned out my refrigerator, did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, went grocery shopping, etc. I was also on a mission to lose 50 lbs in that first month 🙄 (we’ll talk more about this later) so I was going to EAT CLEAN! Absolutely capitalize on that motivation over the next few days, whatever it helps you accomplish!
Here’s my suggestion for today. Get your ass outside. Even if it’s just a walk around the block, five minutes with some hot tea or a mocktail, a walk to get the mail, a hike in the woods. Take a deep breath of fresh, fall air. Our beautiful days are numbered, depending on where you are in the world.
A couple of other resources that helped me in the beginning that I continue to use on a daily basis:
This smart phone app tracks your days of sobriety but also has some great resources for community, positive affirmations, pledges, money savings, etc. I still use it today, on Day 398.
This is an Apple app (sorry non-apple users) that I use for habits I want to track. In my first 60 days I put some stretching exercises on there that I wanted to complete every day. It was a total game changer. To this day, I haven’t bitten my fingernails in 396 days!
Instagram and podcasts
There is a HUGE sober community on Instagram. A ton of motivation and inspiration from some people that just got sick and tired of being sick and tired. Some of my favorites are thesoberginger, kelz_is_sober, soberincentralpark and of course, me, katyripp 😉
In addition, Over the Influence Podcast saved me those first few months. I suggest starting at the beginning and listening whenever you can. They’re funny, non-judgemental and have the best accents.
I hope this can help get you through Day 2. Think about this though, when you make it to tomorrow, you’ll already be through your first weekend!
