Habits, Self-Knowledge and Alcohol: New Strategies

Would you like to be ‘better than before’? I think for many of us this is the appeal  of an alcohol-free life; we want our circumstances to improve.

Today, I share the work of Gretchen Rubin who wrote the book, Better Than Before. This book is about habits but most importantly it’s about knowing oneself better than before. Rubin makes a convincing point that in order to establish habits that last, we must build habits that are based on who we are now. I agree – when we try to adopt the habits of someone else, we often find it difficult. If we start with self-knowledge we are much more likely to succeed in creating lasting change. 

In the podcast today, I share the Habit Manifesto that Rubin created and also offer real life examples of where these principles can help us create an alcohol-free life, and do it with more ease. Here is Rubin’s manifesto:

  1. What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while
  2. Make it easy to do right and hard to go wrong
  3. Focus on actions, not outcomes
  4. By giving something up, we may gain
  5. Things often get harder before they get easier
  6. When we give more ot ourselves, we can ask more from ourselves
  7. We’re not very different from other people, but those differences are very important
  8. It’s easier to change our surroundings than ourselves
  9. We can’t make people change, but when we change, others may change
  10. We should make sure the things we do to feel better don’t make us feel worse
  11. We manage what we monitor
  12. Once we’re ready to begin, begin now

THANK YOU! I am incredibly grateful to all of you who tune into the podcast, read my newsletter and allow me to share a bit about this aFree journey. My book club partner Sarah (shout out to Sarah who is amazing!) and I have decided to say ‘thank you’ by inviting you into our book club for FREE for the month of December! We want to share this fun and engaging community with all of you!

In addition to reading one book a month, we also have:

  • Member spotlights – get to know your fellow book lovers
  • Author spotlights – this is so fun – we invite an author who comes into the group with a special Zoom session to share about their book and tell their back story
  • Weekly questions about our current book
  • Weekly chat from Sarah and Teri
  • We love the warm community that is building and we would love for you to get a glimpse of what’s inside.

 

Here’s what’s coming up in December:

We are reading “Build The Life You Want” by Oprah Winfrey and Arthur C. Brooks
We have Meg Guiseweiss for our Author Spotlight sharing her new book “Intoxicating Lies”

You can claim your free month HERE

You can also join our book study, Better Than Before HERE (there’s still time but don’t wait much longer!)

To hear more inspirational stories like these, hit subscribe so you never miss out!

Latest Episodes

Starting Over on Your Alcohol-free Journey

Starting Over on Your Alcohol-free Journey

  Getting a 'fresh start' or 'a new lease on life' might seem the perfect way to begin your alcohol-free journey. But, what if we have some time away from alcohol, and then we go back to drinking, first just the occasional glass of wine, or beer on a hot summer's day....

Straight Talk: Surgeon General’s Alcohol Warning

Straight Talk: Surgeon General’s Alcohol Warning

Straight Talk About Alcohol Warning Labels I woke up to the NY Times headline on Friday, January 3, 2025: Breaking news: Surgeon general calls for cancer warnings on alcohol. This headline generated a lot of messages and conversations with my family, clients and...

A Word to Live By for 2025

A Word to Live By for 2025

Happy 2025!  I love the energy of intention that comes with a new year. I no longer set resolutions, but I believe it is important to explore where we have been and what is ahead. I have been enjoying hearing from other thought leaders and some of my mentors about how...

My Christmas Wish

My Christmas Wish

My Christmas Wish for You Merry Christmas! This message will land in your inbox on Christmas Day (if you are in the Northern Hemisphere) and I wanted to take a moment and share my Christmas wish with all of you. My life changed profoundly in 2015 when I decided I...

The ‘Awakened’ Path with Billy Wynne

The ‘Awakened’ Path with Billy Wynne

Zen, Coffee and Alcohol-free living I recently sat down with Billy Wynne, co-founder of Awake, one of the first sober bars in the U.S, author of the upcoming book, The Empty Path, and husband of my friend and fellow TNMI coach, Christy Wynne. Billy shares his personal...

The Compassionate Side of Addiction

The Compassionate Side of Addiction

Compassion and Self-Compassion is critical for your AF journey. One of the most important steps in our AF journey is learning how to move through life with more compassion and self-compassion. This one key shift can help us to broaden our perspective, let go of...

Alcohol Free Clarity with Kyle Smith

Alcohol Free Clarity with Kyle Smith

Language + Breath + Movement = Clarity I love words - I believe they hold great power, and I can be chatty, perhaps using too many words when fewer would be better. I also have come to respect the role that story plays in our lives, both the stories we tell ourselves...

Why Me? How We Become Addicted to Alcohol

Why Me? How We Become Addicted to Alcohol

Many of us struggle with the shame we feel about becoming addicted to alcohol. We can intellectually understand that alcohol is addictive, but we often feel that we should 'know better' or "it could never happen to me". Because this belief is so common, it can keep us...

Hooked on (alcohol-free) Travel

Hooked on (alcohol-free) Travel

Imagine traveling to a local or exotic destination as part of re-discovering yourself after alcohol? Do you recall what you loved to do when drinking was not part of the 'all-inclusive' package?  My guest on Episode 165 of the podcast is Darci Murray, who believes...

Looking for more?

Let’s connect on Social Media!