5 Years of Sobriety
I want to start today’s post by sharing this message from one of my readers- “Just wanted to say that I enjoy reading your blogs and listening to your podcasts. The example you gave of the school run red lights was so simple and effective.” S My reader was referencing the post Taking Purposeful Action. I love getting feedback and thoughts from my readers, listeners and clients and it makes me so happy to be here, continue my writing and circulate the good stuff. If you read my blog frequently, then you know that the topics on my Monday morning posts are coaching related. My aim is to keep it real, write about topics that come up in my sessions along with my experiences and learnings. I also share thoughts and offer tips and practical exercises on each topic so you can bring change in the areas you want to work on.
Today’s post is a little different. It’s October 1st 2018 and I’m celebrating my 5 years of sobriety. Sobriety has changed my life for the better in countless ways. It has shown me that I have the power to choose what’s best for me over and over again even when the choices in front of me are really hard. This is something I never would have thought possible in the past.
2012 and 2013 were one of the toughest years of my adult life. I battled with personal and professional struggles reaching an all time low and hitting rock bottom. Have you ever experienced rock bottom? I hope you haven’t and I don’t wish it for anybody because its one of the most painful places to be in. I look at these two years as tough and excruciating because it was then that I had the courage to seek professional help to deal with issues from my past that I had hidden beautifully under the carpet. Stuff I had hidden for 10 years and more. So the pain actually came and engulfed me when I started dealing head on with issues that I had been blocking and hiding away. I’ve shared some part of it in a post I wrote recently on my battle with PTSD.
When I was hiding and escaping from the things I had to deal with, I became an expert in buffering. Buffering is when we use external things to change or avoid what we are feeling. By constantly running away from what we are feeling we are trying to solve it by seeking false pleasure. And I was using my favourite buffers Chablis and Riesling to help me
As I started dealing with my PTSD and working deeply with my change work professional I started getting strong. With strength came the determination to change my old ways. I started running (yes, now I am an avid runner and I’ve proudly displayed my 50 plus medals below!). On October 1st 2013, I decided to give up alcohol. I set up a challenge to race 40 half marathons before I turned 40, which I successfully completed in April last year. I started bringing positive change to my life even if that meant giving up things that gave me short-term pleasure. I shifted my mind-set, said goodbye to all the things that were not serving me and I channeled that energy into getting fit emotionally and physically.
Today, 5 years on, I’m a much stronger person. I’m more mindful of how I live my life. 3 years ago I started work with the Cherie Blair Foundation to train women entrepreneurs in developing countries. I become a Certified Women’s Empowerment Life Coach and started my own coaching practice helping women live and lead their best and authentic lives. Every day I live my purpose consciously and want to move forward to do bigger and better things in the Mental Health space.
If you got this far, thank you for reading. I’m not able to write more as I find myself getting emotional. This post is definitely not about me asking you to give up anything let alone alcohol. There are no tips or tools or anything in this post. It’s just about me sharing a part of my life unfiltered, one I would previously have been afraid to share for the fear of being judged. But today, I’m here. I’m happy and I own my sobriety.
Sharing images of my 50 plus medals from running. Each medal has a story, one of courage, determination and grit.
I'm Poornima Nair, Certified Life Coach, NLP Practitioner and Founder of Live Authentic Coaching. If you are curious about coaching, interested in being nurtured, inspired and pushed to your edge, to discover and create the relationships, career, lifestyle, finances you are longing for, please reach out to me for a taster of what great coaching does to foster the clarity, mindset, qualities and skills that will allow you to breakthrough.