Summary

The author describes how quitting alcohol provided them with the clarity to envision a more productive and fulfilling future, which they refer to as a hidden superpower.

Abstract

The article details the author's journey of quitting alcohol and the transformative effects it has had on their life. By stepping away from daily drinking, the author has gained the ability to foresee the negative consequences of alcohol consumption on their future productivity and well-being. This newfound foresight has enabled them to make better choices, leading to improved mental clarity, increased motivation, and the pursuit of personal goals such as entrepreneurship and fitness. The author contrasts the bleak outcome of succumbing to a drink with the bright future they are now creating by remaining sober. They emphasize the mental freedom and physical benefits that have come from not drinking, including better sleep, consistent energy levels, and a sense of pride in their achievements.

Opinions

The author believes that quitting alcohol has given them the ability to predict and avoid negative outcomes associated with drinking.
They express a strong dissatisfaction with their former self, who was trapped in a cycle of drinking and unfulfilled potential.
The author holds the opinion that the effort required to maintain a drinking habit is immense and detrimental to one's quality of life.
They suggest that the true insanity lies not in abstaining from alcohol but in the compulsive thoughts and behaviors that accompany alcohol addiction.
The author values productivity and personal growth, seeing them as achievable without the hindrance of alcohol.
They advocate for the benefits of sobriety, including improved physical health, mental acuity, and overall life satisfaction.
The author encourages readers to consider the positive impact that distancing themselves from alcohol could have on their own lives.

How quitting destructive alcohol gave me this 1 hidden superpower

Quitting alcohol has given me a hidden superpower: I can see the future.

Now, please don’t reach out to me for winning lottery numbers or fast horses.

Unfortunately, I’m not able to visualize those outcomes (and if I could, I sure as heck wouldn’t be revealing it here!).

Here’s the thing though: the further away I get from being a daily-drinking addict, the better I am at seeing what tomorrow will look like today.

And, as my future life flashed before my eyes when someone thrust a beer in my face recently, the picture was bleak indeed.

Quitting alcohol allows you to see the future. (Image credit: James Julian/Dall-E 2)

Drunken nights, wasted days

I’m a full-time father, husband, and employee. I’m also a part-time youth hockey coach for my kids and an entrepreneur. My free time is very limited (read: almost non-existent).

I often feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, so I can’t waste the hours I do have feeling tired, sluggish, and unmotivated.

Before I quit alcohol last summer, “tired, sluggish, and unmotivated” is how I would have described my entire existence.

The reason I quit, you see, is because I was so damn sick of disappointing myself. I was so sick of knowing I had the potential to achieve so much more than I was.

The problem was, my daily drinking kept me in a constant haze.

If I had free hours in the evening, did I use them to achieve my goal of starting my own business and maybe, possibly, leaving the 9–5 grind someday?

Of course not!

I used them to get progressively more numb, bury my feelings, sit on the couch, and partake in valueless, cheap boredom-busters like Netflix.

Not that I’d have the mental bandwidth to accomplish anything anyway.

Until you quit drinking, you don’t quite realize just how much of your brainpower is tied up in it:

When can I drink?
What time should I start drinking?
If I get home at this time after something, do I still have time to start drinking?
What should I drink?
If I go to a restaurant, do I have an excuse to drink?
Can I drink something that will make me less sick?
If I drink at this time, how bad will my sleep be?
What am I doing tomorrow — how much energy can I expend on drinking?
How bad will tomorrow be if I have a few drinks at this specific time?
If I don’t drink today, is it OK to drink tomorrow?
Can I not drink today?
I don’t want to drink today. But maybe I will today and quit tomorrow?
Maybe I will today and tomorrow, and stop on Monday?

Oh my God, it’s insanity, isn’t it?

The amount of effort it takes to maintain a drinking habit is overwhelming.

As you get further away from that, though, in that space you start to see drinking for what it was.

You get a taste of how different and good life can be without alcohol and you start to see and accept just how bleak your next 24 hours will be if you do drink.

You become unwilling to trade that for a few hours of zombie time.

That was my calculation when someone shoved a pint in my face in the late afternoon a couple of weeks ago and said “Here”.

“Nah, I’m good thanks,” I replied, causing his eyes to bug out at the sheer insanity of someone turning down a free beer.

But for me, the insanity would be accepting the drink.

As I peered into a future where I accepted the drink, here’s what it looked like:

Have the beer
Have a second beer because why not, I’m already drinking
Start feeling tired and sluggish … and it’s only afternoon
Cancel my plans to go to the gym — too tired, and kind of buzzed
Buy more alcohol to drink at home because now it’s a drinking day
Not accomplish anything on my business or around the house, start going catatonic
Drink some 5–6 more drinks over the course of the evening
Watch something stupid and go to bed way too late
Have trouble falling asleep
Have a trashy, low-quality night’s sleep where I get up to use the bathroom every 5 minutes
Wake up way earlier than I intended (this always happens)
Feel tired and depressed because I know I have a long day in front of me and I have to tackle it with no energy
Go through the motions at work
Not work on my business because my brain is too tired and unmotivated
Possibly start drinking again at 5 p.m. to deal with the depression my drinking has caused
Repeat cycle

Here’s what my future will look like because I choose not to drink tonight or any other night:

I’ll coach hockey and spend some time hanging out with my kids afterward
Maybe I’ll go to the gym so I feel great physically, too
My head will hit the pillow and I’ll fall asleep quickly and I’ll sleep soundly through the night
I’ll be up at 6 a.m. and ready to work on my business
I’ll get three hours of productive time in before I even start my day job, earning more money than I ever expected working for myself
I’ll have a healthy breakfast, my digestion will be normal
I’ll have consistent energy throughout the day and won’t be looking forward to bed five seconds after I get up
I’ll look and feel healthy and I’ll be proud of my accomplishments
I’ll feel optimistic about the future

You can have a brighter future, too.

You just need to put enough distance between you and alcohol to see it.

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