7 Months SOBER (My 7 Steps) Pros & Cons of quitting ALCOHOL

A lot of these people, when you quit drinking, they were never your friends

I don't like the past version, but I'm not going to sit there and dwell on the mistakes

that I've made or all the troubles that I caused in my past

You're not the loser that everybody calls you just because you're sober. Seven months ago, I was stumbling around the campfire thinking I was being funny, not remembering

what was happening, not paying attention to my children. Past four or seven months, whole new life

I am seven months sober today. As most of you know that have been following me, I am getting closer and closer to that

one year mark. I have a seven in seven recipe for you to help you get to seven months sober with these

seven steps. Say that seven times fast. Step one, get going. A lot of us have a really hard time pushing the start button, getting going, taking that

first step. That's a really big commitment for a big life change, sobriety

Not everybody can conquer it and a lot of people don't know where to start

But really, you just have to start. You can't just keep like, I'll start tomorrow, I'll start Monday, I'll start next year, I'll

start next month, maybe in a few weeks, oh, after my birthday, oh, after Christmas, after

New Year's. Hello? When are you going to start? Never. There's always going to be something that's holding you back to help you get going

You just have to make the commitment to yourself and empower your own self to get going and

embrace the journey because it's not easy. Everybody has a different level of alcohol dependency

For a lot of us, it's really hard. And then for some of us, it's all about our mindset

And the day that I chose to do this, I didn't go into it thinking that I would say no to

alcohol for as long as I have. I honestly can't imagine having alcohol back in my life

How good I feel and like, my mental health, physical health, my relationships, my mental

health, learning boundaries. It's a whole new world and it just took me to commit to one thing starting on July 10th

and my whole entire world has changed. I got going. I didn't let anything hold me back and here I am, seven months, completely sober

It took me 20 years to realize that I didn't need alcohol in my life anymore

Alcohol was a huge part of my life. Every function, every emotion, every single thing was revolved around alcohol

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next drink, the next bottle, the next social event

with alcohol. It was always just based around alcohol and now it's not

Now I live a completely different life, a different me, a stronger me, all because I

decided to get going and let alcohol be a thing of the past

Quit looking for the bottom of the bottle, dump it out and get going

Step two, avoid band-aid fixes. This is a good one. Band-aids do not fix bullet holes

Real change goes deeper, way deeper than surface level solutions. It's finding a purpose that resonates with your heart and fuels your journey forward

Alcohol is only a temporary fix for all those deep wounds and it does not fill the void

within us even though we think it does, but it's only temporary

I had to address the root that was causing me to drink, whether that be past trauma

like adult trauma, childhood trauma, wounds that have never been healed, trying to fit

in with other people, social anxiety. You cannot put a band-aid on social anxiety

You cannot put a band-aid on trauma. You have to face it head on for you to heal because that band-aid's not going to cover

up all those deep roots. It's gonna take a lot of time to face it to help you heal

If you don't face it, you're not gonna heal and you have to let it out

You have to let it out. Sometimes when we cover up our wounds with a band-aid, it's just gonna keep covering

and covering and it's never gonna heal properly. What do you do with the cut? You take the band-aid off, you clean it out, you air it out, and you let it heal

Just like our own mental issues, our mental health, our physical, like everything

You cannot use alcohol as a band-aid for your life. For 20 years, I didn't realize that I was using alcohol as a band-aid to cover up all

of my issues, my insecurity issues, my confidence issues, my social anxiety issues, past traumas

I mean, it all escalates and it just, we run to alcohol, we look at the bottom of the bottle

to solve our problems and cover up everything that's causing all of these deep-rooted issues

until you put that bottle down, open up, and realize, hey, maybe this is why I'm drinking

Maybe I don't need it. Maybe I actually do need to heal and go on with my life

It's gonna hurt. Any wound hurts. And it's gonna take a long time

You're not going to heal a deep cut in just a few weeks

It's going to take months. For some of us, it's going to take years

I wish I could tell you guys that it's an easy wound to heal

I'm still working on a lot of things and a lot of us, past that one year mark, also are

working on things. It takes a long time to heal. You lose friends in the process

Were those friends just there because they also had the same issues as you

Like insecurity issues, confidence issues, just trying to bring you down with them

Now they don't want to see you succeed, they just want to keep seeing you fail

And then it's too much for them. They just give up on you and they don't cheer you on

And that's painful. That is a wound that we still have to heal ourselves

We thought these people were our friends. Unfortunately, a lot of these people, when you quit drinking, they were never your friends

They were just there for a good time, for a free freaking drop of alcohol, free food

I mean, whatever. Rip that bandaid off, heal that wound before it gets infected and takes over your life

even more. Step three, offload baggage. Progress necessitates letting go of the things that are holding us down

Through this journey, the last seven months, I've realized that I've had to let go of a

lot of baggage. I've had to release the burdens of my past, whether it's toxic relationships, detrimental

habits or lingering regrets. Holding onto baggage just weighs you down. You go into new relationships and you're like, oh crap, you got a lot of baggage

I don't want to deal with this. Some of us turn to the bottle because we can't let go of the old baggage

We're going to hold onto it. It's just going to keep dragging us down. And where are you going to go

You're just going to get so heavy that you're just going to stop progressing in life

And well, now what? You have to find good support. Maybe some of these old baggages, you know, toxic relationships or these bad habits, maybe

they're holding you back and they won't let you go, but you have to let that go

You have to move forward. You have to find good support. Those detrimental habits, coming home instantly, pouring a glass of wine, pouring, you know

whiskey and Coke, vodka and soda. I mean, is that like a habit that you need to break

Like you need to offload that baggage. Maybe come home, grab like a seltzer water or, you know, maybe some type of soda, something

coffee, I don't know, tea. Like get rid of those detrimental habits as in that old baggage and go get new baggage

Grab something refreshing other than alcohol. Go for a walk, go for a bike ride, maybe go hiking, do a workout

Did you leave the house dirty before you left because you drank too much the night before

and now you're stressed that you have to come home and clean the house

I mean, all these things, if you let go of the old baggage, you start realizing that

there's a new way of life. You're refreshed, you're lighter, and you don't have to stress so much

You don't have something weighing you down and you can move forward

Your life is going to seem a lot easier. Yes, not in the beginning

I never said that it'll be easy, but letting go of things that are holding you back is

definitely a must. You have to get rid of it to move forward

A huge thing that I actually have noticed is finding a therapist

There's nothing wrong with saying, hey, my counselor or hey, my therapist. They become your best friend that you can offload all these things to, which help navigate

getting past these toxic things that are holding you back, that are weighing you down and finding

that support. I literally don't think that I could have done it without my therapist and the support

that I've had from some of my friends and my family just pushing me forward and helping

lift me up when I feel heavier. It's literally teamwork with everybody around you

If you can't find a therapist or you don't want to go to therapy, find some type of support group

Find a support friend that's sober. Find a family member that can help navigate through these hard times

This community, online communities are absolutely amazing. I don't know how many comments I get daily about how I've helped change their life

I've helped them quit drinking. There's so many days sober. There's so many months sober now

You have to find that positive support to be able to let go of that baggage

Only 10% of you are subscribed. If the other 90% hit that subscribe button, we could reach out and help so many more people

Number four, start over. Recognizing that you can start over is a very powerful realization

Your past does not define your future. No matter your background, no matter the mistakes you've made, every day presents an

opportunity to rebuild and redefine yourself. The step is about forgiving yourself, accepting your past, and moving forward with a commitment

to be a better version of yourself. The old version of yourself does not define your new self

You can be better. You have to realize that starting over, being a better version of yourself, that is completely okay

I mean, I definitely know people don't like the newer version of me, that's for sure

but that's okay. I don't like the past version. I'm not going to sit there and dwell on the mistakes that I've made or all the troubles

that I've caused in my past. I'm going to move forward, be a healthier version of myself, a stronger version of myself

and if people don't accept the new version of you, then they were never meant to be in

your life in the first place, and that is definitely okay. You're not that person that's passed out in front of everybody else

You're not that person dancing on the tables, dancing on the counters. You're not that person taking off your shirt, thinking it's fun

You're not that person getting kicked out of bars or concerts, and you're not that person

getting arrested for being a freaking fool because you're wasted in public

You're not that person drinking and driving. You're not that person losing your family anymore

You're not that person losing your family. You're not that person losing your job

You're a better version of yourself. You are not a loser. You're not the loser that everybody calls you just because you're sober

Number five, new outlook. Achieving and maintaining sobriety requires a fundamental shift in your outlook on life

Achieving and maintaining sobriety requires a fundamental shift in your outlook on life

It's about transforming fear, loneliness, and stress into hope, connection, and peace

Changing your mindset is critical. It empowers you to face challenges with resilience and to see every obstacle as an opportunity

for growth. The day that my mindset shifted about halfway into 75 Hard is when I was like, wow, there's

a whole different life without alcohol. I can do this. I felt stronger

I was losing weight. My clarity was coming back. My energy was coming back

I felt more present with my kids. And if that isn't a new outlook on life, I don't know what is

Going out, adventuring more, being more active with my job, being more active with my children

and my family, just not being so negative about every single thing

Life wasn't revolved around alcohol anymore. There was a different outlook on life

More like refreshing, more energized. There was peace. It was just, it was a whole, whole different ballgame

As soon as that mindset shifted, it was definitely life changing. I can like face things now

I have a different strength in me. I have learned boundaries. Can definitely set boundaries now

I didn't feel like I was worth being able to set boundaries because I didn't feel very

confident in myself because, oh, what is this life thing that I'm doing

Just being drugged down constantly, just not really having any, any hope for life

Just day to day, drinking, coming home, drinking, weekends, all day drinking, events, drinking

you know, camping, drinking, family vacations, drinking. All of it was just drinking

There was no different outlook. It was just all about looking for the next drink

But when you let go of the bottle, your eyes open, your mind opens and your body just feels

so refreshed and you have a whole new outlook on life. You actually enjoy doing things completely sober now

Step six, commitment. Sobriety is a choice that demands ongoing commitment. You have to commit to being sober because if you don't commit to it, you're going to fail

Honestly, so many people just take it day by day. Like, oh, well, I think I just won't drink this week or I just, you know, I can't do it

I don't think I can do it. I don't want to do it. Like maybe I'll just do dry January. Oh, maybe I'll just do sober October

You literally have to commit to the lifestyle of being sober. Does that mean having a club soda and lime versus vodka and soda

Yes, it does. Because you're committing. You can go out with your friends, have a soda on hand without the alcohol because you have

committed to a different type of life. You've committed to being sober and there's nothing wrong with that

If it means having to have coffee at nine o'clock at night because you're out hanging out with your friends and you just have to have something in your hand, that's completely

okay because as long as you stay committed to yourself and to sobriety, you will succeed

You have to recognize that every choice impacts your decision to be sober

You cannot put yourself in situations until you are ready. You cannot be like, yes, I'll come to your wedding

Oh yes, I'll come to your big birthday right in the beginning of your sobriety

I know a lot of people that did not commit to being sober went to these Christmas parties

went to these birthday parties and they weren't committed enough and they started drinking

because they had to. They thought that they had to have alcohol in their hand when really they could have

just had a Pepsi in their hand or a Coke in their hand or water in their hand

It's all about the journey for you committing, making a decision in your life to stay committed

to being sober. Every time you say yes to sobriety, you are saying no to the things that undermine it

This step underscores the importance of conscious decision making in your journey, recognizing

that every choice that you make impacts your path forward. Step seven, give back freely

One of the most rewarding things about sobriety is being able to give back to people facing

similar struggles. Sharing my stories, sharing my journey with you guys, this community, being so involved

with you guys, it's helped me, I've helped you. It's just one big circle of everybody being able to give back to each other with every

story that we share, with every journey, with every trial. We all just come together to help each other and I think that's the most important thing

is just giving back freely. We're here to help each other. Don't let your sober journey stop with you

Go help others. Get involved. Grow a community. Reach out to friends that are struggling that may want to stop

Join this community. Comment on other people's struggling comments. We all are here to help each other

Your story might just inspire somebody else to make the decision to quit drinking and

change their life completely and give back freely. If you don't share your stories, as in giving back freely, you never know how many lives

you actually can change. Your story might just change somebody's life, put them on the right path forward, and all

because you decided to share your vulnerability and give back freely. As I reflect back on my seven months of sobriety, so much has changed in my life

This community has grown. We've all been here to help each other and it's just absolutely amazing seeing everybody

come together online from all over the world to give back freely and help one another

push each other forward on their path of sobriety. Everybody is here to help one another and little me, like I will say, never expected

to be here changing all of your lives. And with these steps, I really think have helped me

There's no perfect way to get sober. It's just your mindset. You have to do it

You have to commit to it. You have to be able to let go of things that are holding you back and just push forward

I want to know from you guys what moment or experience was the most transformative in

your sobriety journey. I don't know. Have you started yet? Are you started

Have you been sober for decades? Maybe you can give input to help somebody else that was in your shoes at one point in time

Thank you so much for being here. I am so much stronger because of all of you and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate

you all