By Carmen Greger
For many of us, sipping spirits at Summer Soirees tends to extend beyond Summer’s last call.
October is right around the corner, and we challenge you to clean up your act with us for 31 days!
While consuming cocktails can certainly be fun, exciting and tasty, when done in excess, it can be a major contributor to sleep disruption, energy drain an unwanted weight gain.
Oftentimes, cocktail hour is simply a ritualistic shifting of gears from the grind of the day into the ease of the eve. As human beings, we are creatures of habit, so replacing a bad habit with a good one is a better choice than just focusing on trying to eliminate the bad one. Meaning, instead of attempting to dismiss the ritual that represents the daily need to change the speed and focus of life at that moment, EOD, try keeping the ritual in place but elevating the components to a healthier option.
The liquid poured into the glass need not be alcohol. Have your herbal teas aplenty and at the ready. Another great option is pouring your favorite Kombucha into your wine glass. There are so many brands and flavors of this raw probiotic ‘good bacteria’ concoction. Whole Foods, Acme and Mom’s Organic Market all stock multiple options, and Mom’s even brews their own. It’s amazing! Once you stock your fridge with your colorful kombuchas, you can pop them open (swirl before you uncap to remix any settlement, don’t shake or you’ll get an explosion) try adding in a sprig of fresh rosemary, basil leaves or mint to any of them for some boosted presentation and flavor. Alcohol is also often used as a coping mechanism, when a brisk walk in the fresh air would offer a lot more in the long run, so perhaps add in an evening walk to your routine, pre or post kombucha.
Substituting the bad habit with the good, leaves no space for the bad one to live and the good habits will yield so many collective benefits that so they lay a solid groundwork for escalated and endless thriving while the bad ones must simply die off by default.
This reminds me of the powerful message in ‘The Tale of Two Wolves’:
‘One evening, and old Cherokee told his son about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.
One is evil …. (for our purposes, let’s call this wolf ‘the bad habit’) ….
The other is good” (let’s refer to this wolf as ‘the good habit’).
The Grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his Grandfather “Which one wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied. “The one you feed”.
Out with the old, in with the new.
In place of your regular spirited bev of choice, try something different:
Adaptogens, herbs, botanicals, nootropics and euphorics are a relatively new gang that have entered the scene as a preferred choice by many who now feel that alcohol is ‘so pase’’, as it’s dehydrating, neurologically toxic and depleting, while the qualities of the botanicals boast regeneration, renewal and restoration. They are primarily plant-based mood boosters, energy optimizers and mind-body balancers that offer the same chill-out effect of a cocktail, but with the reinforcing of clarity rather than prompting tipsiness or intoxication.
Some adaptogen, euphorics and nootropics drinks currently being raved about are Recess, Vybes, Moment, Three Spirit and Elements. There are also powder forms of these powerhouse supplements that you can buy and add to your preferred beverages as well as capsule forms from a myriad of companies.
Crafting a new habit (and a non-alcoholic cocktail, aka mocktail) takes a decision followed by an action, a dash of creativity and a sprig of commitment. There are endless opinions (and studies done) on how long it takes to create a new habit, from 6 to 21 to 40 days and up to 256 days, but truly it starts with day 1 and then recommitting on day 2 and 3 and so on.
Each day will require less effort than the previous one, as the new pattern of choice forms, especially noticeable after day 3, which I often tell my clients when doing any type of detox program, as the end of day 3, noticeable shifts in reactivity, productivity and positive energy become obvious.
31 days will fly by, The Dao De Jing reminds us that ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step’ especially when you take it day by day and know that we’re all in this together and have the energy of group support in our common goal.
Wanting additional support, camaraderie and accountability? Check out SoberOctober.com where you can register to join the challenge, recruit sponsors and raise funds to support people in recovery. Sounds like a win-win! We’d love to hear about your challenges, your creative concoctions and your successes! Be sure to keep us posted!
Next month’s local challenge trend is a duo: Novembeard and GIA30 (Gratitude in Action)
