Summary

The article advocates for extending Sober October into No Booze November, emphasizing the numerous health, financial, and personal benefits of abstaining from alcohol.

Abstract

The author of the article suggests that individuals who have completed Sober October should consider continuing their alcohol-free lifestyle into November. The article highlights the significant improvements in mental and physical well-being that many experience after dropping alcohol, such as better skin, improved sleep, increased energy, weight loss, and enhanced productivity. It argues that these benefits outweigh the temporary pleasures of drinking and that any return to alcohol could lead to a slippery slope of increased consumption. The concept of compound gains is introduced, suggesting that the positive effects of sobriety can accumulate over time, leading to a happier, healthier, and wealthier life. The author also warns against the "Sober October trap," where individuals use the challenge as an excuse to drink heavily before and after the month, and encourages readers to reflect on their relationship with alcohol, especially with the holiday season approaching.

Opinions

The author believes that alcohol consumption is detrimental to one's health and well-being, leading to negative effects such as depression, dehydration, and damage to the body.
It is implied that society's perception of alcohol as a source of fun or relaxation is misguided and that the costs outweigh the benefits.
The article suggests that alcohol consumption can normalize feeling unwell, and that true baseline health is experienced during periods of sobriety.
There is a skeptical view on the idea of moderate drinking, with the author stating that "it's never just one drink" for many people, leading back to heavier drinking patterns.
The author promotes the idea of sobriety as a long-term investment in one's health and wealth, with significant financial savings possible over time by not purchasing alcohol.
There is an encouragement to avoid the pitfall of using Sober October as an excuse for excessive drinking during the holiday season, advocating instead for sustained sobriety.
The author expresses a personal understanding of the challenges of sobriety, indicating they have experienced similar situations to those they are writing about.

Why you should extend Sober October into No Booze November

Many people are counting down the final days of Sober October, waiting for that precious moment they’ll be “allowed” to drink alcohol again.

The crazy thing is, I suspect most of those people are probably feeling better than they have all year — and dropping alcohol has everything to do with it.

If you’re one of these people, maybe just take a moment and ask yourself: why am I going back to drinking, exactly?

It’s no secret that alcohol is deeply detrimental to your mental and physical health. It’s depressing, dehydrating and damaging.

In fact, if you slow down and consider where you are vs. October 1, you’ll probably find that:

Your skin is less puffy and flaky
Your eyes are whiter, with the subtle jaundice around the edges gone
You feel more energetic due to better sleep
You feel happier and more emotionally stable for the same reason
You’re proud of yourself for having accomplished a goal
You’ve lost weight due to the drastic reduction in calorie and sugar intake
You’ve gotten back to the gym now that you have energy to spare
You have more money, $300+ if you were buying a bottle of wine per day
You’re more productive at work and with your side hustles
You’re more present and patient with your kids
Your relationships are more genuine

This is not an exhaustive list. There are countless ways your life improves when you quit alcohol.

So again I ask: why are you going back to drinking?

Alcohol’s greatest trick

Because it’s “fun”? Because it “relaxes” you?

Reread the list above. Can you honestly say the trade-off — some cheap, fake happiness or bordom-busting in exchange for feeling better in every aspect of your life — is worth it?

Alcohol makes us forget what our baseline health is. When we drink it all the time, we feel crappy all the time and think it’s normal.

But our real baseline health is what we experience when we’re not drinking. We feel all the benefits that I described above and are generally just “well”.

As we move further away from our alcohol consumption, however, we start forgetting just how crappy we felt in comparison while drinking. We start feeling great and go, “gee, what’s the harm in one drink? I feel awesome!”

If you’re like me, it’s never just one drink. It might be one drink the first Friday, but then that slips into “gee, it’s Saturday, maybe I can just drink on the weekend like a ‘normal’ person.”

Then Tuesday is a crappy day at work and it’s “ah, just today, no prob.”

And then Thursday, you’re bored at home and your solution is to have a couple drinks.

And down the rabbit hole we go again.

Here’s a better option: write down all the ways you feel better and all the things you’ve accomplished during Sober October, and instead of throwing all those gains away, build on them.

Compound gains

Think of every day without alcohol as a deposit on your future wellness, one that is pumped up by the power of compounding.

Just as $1,000 saved today at 10% interest is worth $12,056 in 25 years, imagine where your life will be if you continue to build on this one Sober October.

In 25 years, you could be happier, healthier, and wealthier than you ever imagined possible.

If you go back to heavy drinking again and stick with it, compounding will work in reverse. In fact, you might not even be around in 25 years.

Your health the most important reason to try No Booze November, but the money alone would make it worthwhile.

Using the same compounding concept and applied to a $12, bottle-a-day alcohol habit, you would save $214,403.43 over 20 years.

I know, I’ve done the math.

It’s a trap!

Don’t be one of the people who fall into the Sober October trap.

Although any initiative that promotes reducing alcohol intake should be seen as a positive, it also provides a convenient excuse to continue heavy drinking afterwards for those who are taking part to “prove” to themselves they can quit for a little bit.

Just because you made it 30 days, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a problem. In fact, feeling the need to prove to yourself you can go 30 days without drinking is actually indicative of a problem.

I’m not judging — I’ve done this before.

Holiday hangovers

I’m a pragmatic person. I know many people are probably planning to drink heaving during the upcoming holiday season.

Even if that’s your path, however, why not give your body and mind another month to recover?

You may find that, after two months of not drinking, your desire to get blasted during the holidays, deal with crushing hangover headaches and explain away embarrassing behaviour is gone.

You might even feel so good that you find you don’t want to go backward after all.

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