New hobbies

The past week went fine, no 'sin'. Movement was the motto last week and I continued with that this week. Even set a personal record with 20,000 steps in one day, which was about 15 kilometers of walking. On Thursday the wind was blowing quite hard and it also rained for a while, but my wind and waterproof hiking jacket was good for that. I even enjoyed the raging of the elements, whereas I used to stay indoors in that kind of weather. It turns out that it is best to walk in the rain, in any case it is nice to get off the couch and enjoy the satisfied feeling afterwards and the extra chocolate. I also continued with my non-alcoholic white beer around five o'clock. I am now just as looking forward to it as I am to the glass of red wine from before IkPas. Sunday we had dinner with family. Fortunately no wine was drunk and I had brought my own beer. That gave me a festive feeling. I do realize that I will continue to link that festive feeling to alcohol: I want to continue working with that.

Tuesday evening I zoomed in on the special IkPas meeting of Petra Moes. This one was inspiring, offered a lot of recognition and tips. I thought the most important tip was research into the need behind the drink. Petra explained that at such a moment of craving you can ask yourself where your real need lies at that moment. Are you actually hungry? Are you (just) thirsty? Are you tired? Are you perhaps angry, afraid, happy or sad? Her advice is to address that real need first. Often you will no longer feel like a glass of alcohol afterwards. Petra also recommended that you look for rewards for yourself other than a glass of wine. You can therefore actively look for other things that really make you happy. I did that last week and discovered something: making something small out of paper from the Flow. Anyway, I really enjoy making things with my hands.

Wednesday I baked a delicious apple pie for my birthday brother, who came to visit. That gave me great satisfaction: I enjoyed the cinnamon scent and the well-crafted crispy crust. This was the only day when I really wanted a glass of wine. Forgot to investigate what my real need was (rest) and drank a large glass of alcohol-free merlot. Fortunately I didn't feel like 'the real thing' and was happy the next morning that I woke up fresh and fruity. Still, I don't want to make a habit of alcohol-free wine, because your head will still be in wine mode. Now on to week 4! I am optimistic about the week and continue to become aware of my real needs. M curious! Good luck everyone.