Confession

As a Drink Less coach, when I meet new people, the topic of drinking always comes up. I have found that people fall into one of two camps. One group says, "Thank God, I can finally be honest about my experience with someone who understands." The other group says, "I have never had a problem with drinking too much."

My knee jerk reaction to the people in this second group goes like this:

• WTF? This person is a weirdo.

• Oh, maybe they just think that I am trying to sell coaching and they are politely telling me "Thanks, but no thanks."

• Oh WOW, I think this means that I still have some internalized beliefs about alcohol back in the recesses of my mind...

Even though I didn't realize that it was there, it does make a lot of sense.

We live in a drinking culture. We internalize the message that "this is what people do" starting in childhood. Clearly, there is still a part of my subconscious that believes that it is "abnormal" not to.

Now, let me be very clear, I honestly don't believe that it is abnormal to not drink or to drink less. I wouldn't be as happy as I am today if I hadn't done my work in this area. And I certainly wouldn't be working as a coach in this space if I didn't believe in it.

I wanted to bring this up today because even after having worked on this, AND being very happy, I still stumble across subconscious beliefs that surprise me. And as long as I am on this journey of self-development, I expect that I always will.

This happens because our brains are open receptacles for any information someone wants to throw in there unless we are hyper-vigilant about what goes in. Imagine a computer that anyone anywhere is allowed to fill with pieces of code. This is the human brain.

This is why my clients tell me things like:

• Since everyone else drinks and is happy, and I don't like some of the side effects of drinking, there must be something wrong with me.

• I don't want people to think that I have a problem with alcohol if I am not drinking.

• I told my husband I would give up alcohol with him for Lent, but that seems really hard.

Once we look at the underlying beliefs (there must be something wrong with me, the only reason to stop drinking is if I have a problem, and cutting back is hard) and start to question them, this opens the door for change.

The key is recognizing that they are even there! Case in point, my example above!!

What about you? What would you think if someone were to tell you that they have never had a problem with drinking? What would be your opinion of someone who said that?

If you want help rooting out your own internal beliefs about alcohol, click the green button above and schedule time on my calendar.