"A year from now you will wish you had started today"

NOTE: You can find my new blog on my journey over the next year here:
http://410874965909922668.weebly.com

This quote has been running through my mind for quite some time now. In September I wrote some goals of things I would like to accomplish before I turn 40. One of the goals was to quit drinking for one year. And that one year - 365 days starts today. March 24th, 2014.

I have been thinking about this for quite some time. My one month trial back in November was a success, however I must be honest with you, I picked up smoking instead. I have kicked that habit, and picked up smoking Shisha (no, this is not drugs Mom and Dad, it is flavoured tobacco filtered through water). So now is the time to quit all of these habits and start focusing on my health. Cold turkey, one year.

For those of you who know me, you know that I love to have a few drinks. My lifestyle over the past 10 years has been one of pretty much every weekend (and lets be honest, a few week days) filled with some sort of get together with friends over a couple of drinks, generally spending Saturday's slightly hungover and eating garbage food, and generally feeling bad about myself because I want to be healthy. When I lived out West, we drank, but I felt pretty healthy since the drinks were followed after a day of skiing, mountain biking, frisbee golf, and maybe even once, a celebration after a duathalon. I have had many fun times, sad times and regrettable times, all related to the consumption of alcohol. Every event, big or small has been centred around alcohol.

Now I know this is a huge undertaking for myself. So I have to be clear about my goals. I know I need to keep them in mind during the next year, because if I forget why I am doing this, I know I will make up some excuse to have a drink. I thought about limiting my alcohol to twice a month, or once a month, but I think I really need to see what life is like, alcohol free, for one year. I want to focus on my health, on my goals, and focus not only my future, but living each day feeling great.

So why am I telling you this? I'm telling you this because I need the support of my friends and family to accomplish this goal. There are going to be many events over the next year where drinking is a normal part of the occasion. And I love to have a cold beer, a caesar, a glass of wine - the problem is in most cases they turn into much more than one glass - and I want to stay focused.

So. Here it goes friends. One year - alcohol free. Here are the list of some of the goals I hope to keep in mind and accomplish over the next year:

• regular meditation practice
• regular yoga practice
• regular visits to the gym (once back in Canada)
• career goals met - still to be worked on
• financial goals met - still to be worked on
• completed two AQ courses
• vegetarian lifestyle (although I will be eating fish - I cannot get rid of my sushi!!)
• attend another yoga retreat

These are just a few goals to start me off - and the biggest reason for doing this is that I want a clear mind. I want to be focused, and honest about where I am going and what I am doing. Without the hold of alcohol, I will hopefully have to get busy and put procrastination on the back burner, because when Saturday morning rolls around and I'm wide awake at 7am - that leaves copious amounts of time to do wonderful things during the day. 

I have no idea where this journey will take me, but it feels right. If feels like just the right amount out of my comfort zone. Cheers to a year full of firsts.