But as the years passed, I started to notice in photographs taken only a few years before that my face was less puffy and weathered, and there were no lines around my eyes or bags beneath them. On March 10, 2010, I woke up with a hangover in a hotel room in Austin, Texas. Angry at how I felt, I made a personal vow that morning: quit alcohol for 30 days. Not only did I make it through that month—I’ve not had a drink since. Today, life is simply better without alcohol: I’m 20 pounds lighter, my skin is clearer, and my relationships are transformed. If you’re also looking to reduce or quit drinking, here are the life changes I made that helped me on my journey: You don’t have to fire all your friends—I didn’t. But I did learn that spending more time around moderate drinkers or non-drinkers did make quitting alcohol a whole lot easier. Other times, I’d walk around the block, jump up and down, or drink a tall glass of cold water. I also built resilience through meditation. For example, I attended Vipassana: ten days of silence in the Joshua Tree toughened me up. Each night before I go to sleep, I carefully lay out my gym clothes at the foot of my bed. When I wake up, I immediately see the shirt, shorts, shoes, socks, water bottle, headphones, and towel. Instinctively, I put my gym clothes on. My chances of going to the gym are now greatly increased, and this healthy habit helps make me feel great. Whatever I said, I owned it. When people asked why I quit drinking, I’d say, “For health reasons. I had a break from alcohol and felt terrific, so I kept going.” It now occupies about five seconds of the conversation when meeting someone new. It’s never an issue when they see my confidence and conviction.
