Goodbye to my guilty pleasure

Good intentions? I'm never really into that. Not even on the threshold of the new year. I don't believe it's that easy to change your behavior and habits. Especially bad or unhealthy habits, you usually don't learn them overnight. For myself, moreover, I do not see one-two-three reasons to change course. In all modesty, I believe that I actually live quite consciously and healthy. I walk and cycle a lot and I feel fit. I eat healthy and can usually resist temptations well: sweets, fat, salt, I'm always moderate with it. And I don't smoke. Ten years ago I, until then an inveterate smoker, put out my last cigarette.

Burgundian

Admittedly, I do like to drink a glass of wine. In the evening, after a long working day, relax. Just change the sentences. And for fun, of course, with friends and family. A glass is part of it, right? It might be one of my last guilty pleasures. Come to think of it, the cause probably lies in my Burgundian upbringing. I remember the delicious meals from home. On Sundays and holidays, with the whole family at the table, we heard my mother stirring pots and pans.

We chatted together and always drank a glass or two. Tasty. Innocent. Alcohol has never been a problem for me, luckily. Always in moderation, excess is harmful. Because I am really aware that alcohol is not good for life and limb. Alcohol abuse can lead to a lot of trouble. There are people who drink to bursting. With disastrous consequences for their health and for their social environment. Many young people drink themselves to the edge of a coma every weekend, sometimes in combination with nitrous oxide and pills. Addictions? They are dramas.

sympathetic

Nevertheless, I am quite allergic to meddling. Rules, commandments, prohibitions; we are good at that in the Netherlands. I like to decide for myself what is good for me. What I do like is to be seduced, to be challenged. I therefore find the initiative IkPas, of the Groningen health service and addiction care, sympathetic. I take up the gauntlet and enthusiastically start a fresh start in the new year. For me this means: no alcohol for a month. Not a drop.

Dry January. The mayor, my fellow aldermen, a number of councilors, civil servants and welfare workers in our municipality are taking part. That makes it extra fun. It gives a special group feeling. And, if necessary, we support each other. Would I find it difficult? Am I going to miss it, at parties for example?

Breaking through entrenched patterns and once again consciously looking at your own lifestyle; that can't hurt of course. I am also a bit curious if I will actually feel fitter in the future. Because I sometimes don't sleep well, I always blame it on staring into my laptop and iPad for a long time. Maybe I'll come to the conclusion that there is another cause? Who knows.

I wish all IkPas participants a lot of success this month!

Elly Pastor, Alderman Westerkwartier, Groningen