I cared so much for her and our family, and knew this was the motivation I needed to right the ship. There are very few people who can hold me accountable, as I have a tendency to be hostile to authority, but she is the ultimate exception to this rule. I knew amidst it all that I didn't want to disappoint her. I came home one night and approached my wife with an incredibly impossible request that so many of us fear. When push came to shove and the weekend rolled around, I'd say, "Well, I'll start next week," and always found a reason to stay comfortable in what had become my unfortunate comfort zone. Our daughter was two at the time, and I knew I needed to do right by her.Īt this point, I had expressed a desire to quit countless times, but had never successfully committed to it. Ultimately it came down to wanting to be better for my family. I lost 4 pant sizes while still eating junk food every day.I know what bin Laden's letter truly means I was 13 and got into a stranger's car.I remember the morning I woke up and decided I had to quit drinking for good. It was just before my 40th birthday when the conflict, stress, and impact of the past couple of decades reached a pinnacle. I have vivid memories of my wife telling me how I embarrassed her at social gatherings when I drank a lot-that was a breaking point, having the realization that the most meaningful relationships in my life were starting to suffer. I had a vision of how I wanted things to be-business, relationships, my own personal health, but I was falling short, and the internal dissatisfaction that comes with that feeling is crippling. And that bled into other areas of my life. Sure, I had clients who were paying for my time, but I knew I wasn't giving this new venture all that I had. It goes without saying that my productivity plummeted, nearly incapable of accomplishing anything that was truly beneficial to the business. Waking up with a hangover became a regular part of this cycle from which I couldn't break free. I was adjusting to the flexibility of working from home, and indulging in regular late outings with clients. Oddly enough, this new chapter of independent entrepreneurship created even more opportunities to drink. I had spent about 20 years in the corporate world, repeatedly running into obstacles that felt largely avoidable, solely due to ineffective and inefficient leadership and operations. In 2015, I launched my own business, an executive development firm offering individual and team coaching and consultations. Every social outing involved excessive drinking. At the height of it, there were days I would drink a bottle of whiskey and multiple bottles of wine after work. Without any knowledge of how to break the cycle, I fell deeper and deeper into the bottle. I was completely void of purpose and confidence and, as a result, wasn't making the progress in my career that I craved. When I drank, I felt confident and secure, which allowed the pattern to persist, and prevented me from facing the core problem I was facing at the time. What intensified this internal conflict was the frustrating feeling that no one-peers, colleagues, family-could see my potential or true capabilities. I wasn't sure where to begin, and even more so, I was worried how that decision would be perceived by my peers. This was the first time since college that I started to flirt with the idea of eliminating alcohol from my life, but it felt like an impossible task. Jim Frawley (pictured) quit alcohol in 2018, after realizing that it was interfering with his job and personal life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |