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Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 41
The whole point of doing these videos for me was to try and give people an idea of the
ups and downs of a journey out of alcohol.
Sometimes Iím just not sure whether Iím making it interesting or not, or whether I
should be trying to make it interesting for people. With the thing of saying how many
weeks off alcohol I am, it is 41, it is as it is. I donít know whether itís going back
to the AA thing, what I donít like about the AA, and thatís standing up and saying
my name is blah blah and Iím off the alcohol for so many weeks, I just donít like that.
I donít know whether thatís from my Catholic upbringing, going to mass and doing your confession
and all that. Itís not the same thing, butÖ ëIím Kevin OíHara, itís been 39 years
since my last confession.î
This week, thereís been nothing unusual about the week. Just a normal week.
I went out with my family the day before yesterday. And actually, I overate! And I overate so
much that yesterday, I felt like I had a hangover. I was just tired and listless and all I wanted
to do was sit down and watch the telly. It wasnít anywhere near as bad as the hangovers
I was getting [when I was drinking], it felt likeÖ I hadnít felt like that in a long
time.
One of the things I wanted to talk about this week was, what exactly do you want to get
out of quitting drinking. Drinking is a means to an end after all, itís what we use as
a tool, probably the only tool or one of the only tools thatís in a drinkers arsenal.
As soon as thereís any problems, itís on to the drink. And we use drink as a tool for
so many things, but at the end of the day, thatís all it is.
And when you stop doing something, itís not an achievement in itself, if you understand
what Iím saying. [Quitting drinking] is a way of moving yourself onto something else
in your life. It allows you to do other things in your life. By quitting drinking, youíre
not actually doing anything. Youíre stopping yourself from having a whole lot of pain in
your life and youíre getting yourself out of that big rut and youíre freeing up a lot
of time, all that kind of stuff. But, in and of itself, stopping doing something is not
an achievement.
Iíll talk a bit more about this in another video, go a bit more in depth into it. To
just talk about it on a personal level, Iíve quit drinking because I want to have a healthy
life. I want to spend more time with my son, with my family. Not just time, but doing things,
spending quality time. I want to extend and expand my business. And I want to be the best
I can be within that business.
There are no real guarantees in life. Just because you quit drinking, doesnít mean to
say that everythingís going to be hunky dory. You could change your life and be the most
healthiest person around, doesnít really guarantee that youíre going to live forever,
for a long life. But, what it does is it gives you the knowledge thatís itís not self-caused.
Youíve done the best in your life to keep the body that youíve gotÖ going. Keeping
it in the best shape that you possibly can. And by doing that, youíre not guaranteeing
anything, but youíre giving yourself the best possible chances.
Like I say, I want to be around for when my son has kids, I want to see my grandchildren,
I want to see them growing up. I want to go to my sonís wedding. I want to be able to
go on long walks along the beech when Iím 80 years of age, that kind of thing. And itís
highly obtainable, itís not beyond reach!
So really, the things that Iím doing in my life to improve it. First of all, Iíve dumped
alcohol out of my life. Thatís one of the main issues. I think the health, your health
is the most important thing, regardless of whatever else, what other plans you have in
your life, if you donít have your health, you havenít got much to work on.
Health is the main thing. Itís a priority for me. The main priority is done, Iíve dumped
the alcohol. For the last few months Iíve just been concentrating on nutrition, reading
a lot of books on nutrition. And Iíve made a lot of changes in my life with what Iím
eating. I still have the odd slip. I havenít gone completely healthy yet. Iím really heading
in the right direction. I feel the benefits of quitting drinking and of changing my diet.
In my business life, I want to expand my eduation, expand my business. Really, I want to do the
best in my business that I possibly can. I have got targets to aim for and Iíve steps
along
the way.