Want to stop drinking? Define your whys!

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle so you’ve got two columns.

At the top of the first column title it Reasons I want to continue drinking. In the second column title it Reasons I want to stop drinking.

Now let fly, there is no right or wrong here but be brutally honest. You want to put everything that you believe about alcohol and why you do / don’t want to drink.

Everyone’s list will be totally different, but the aim of the game initially is to get everything out of your head and on paper.

Once you’re finished making your list, I’m guessing your Reasons I want to stop drinking column is likely already longer than your Reasons I want to continue drinking column which is exactly what you want. The longer we can make the reasons why not to drink the better!

Also I’d invite you to take a look at the Reasons I want to continue drinking column and really reflect if what you’ve written is true. As I bet a lot of it, when you think a little deeper, may prove to not be true.

The above are some ideas that help me visualise but I’m sure you’ll find some of your own as well. There is so much we can do to help our imaginations really bring this picture to life.

Once you have created this image in your mind, really let your emotions build around it. Perhaps you have a sense of happiness, excitement, being proud etc. Your mind will start to recognise that this image is important. Since it makes you feel good, your subconscious will take note of this and start to guide you to reach and live like this.

Our subconscious works with images and feelings, but studies have identified our subconscious can’t tell whether something is real or imagined.

So if the image you have created looks so good and makes you feel great, your subconscious will love that. It will want to make sure you get more of it. As such it will keep tracking in the background and alert you to any opportunities on the horizon to help you live your imagined reality.

A simple example of this, most people will identify with, is when you have decided to buy a new car, a pair of trainers or handbag etc. Once you’ve fallen in love with your new whatever it be, you start to see them all over the place!

Now of course there hasn’t been a glut of new cars, shoes, handbags etc since you made the decision to buy, they’ve always been there, but now your subconscious knows it is important to you and is in turn letting your conscious mind know. And voila now we see them more in our lives.

If you like scrapbooking or getting creative with the scissors and glue then I’d recommend you let your creative juices flow and create a mood board to visually remind yourself why you want to stop drinking.

If you are more at home using the computer you can create your mood board using your preferred software or an online design tool such as Canva and print it out instead.

However you decide to produce your mood board the principle is simple. Pull as many elements as you can on to this board to help your subconscious lock in to your new alcohol free lifestyle.

Much like the previous tip, the aim of the game is to give your subconscious imagery to work with.

Your mood board will be as unique to you as your list of whys and your imagined imagery.

However you may wish to consider as well as including photos of things you’d like to achieve, adding inspirational quotes or key words that reinforce why you want to stop drinking to your mood board can be really effective.