Straight from the pen: Jeroen

CHARGE BATTERY! Power Remaining: 60%

As a blogger for IkPas you have to inspire and motivate everyone in a positive way, I think. Not drinking (temporarily) is harder for some than others. Some really take the tips and good advice to heart, while others see it more as a pep talk and a sporadic spring in their bum. Anyway, we all try to go through this period in a good way and we know that it can't hurt to drink alcohol for a while. You should therefore be quite proud of yourself for signing up for this and depending on how much you stick to it, you can hopefully be happy with how things are going so far.

But for me personally it's starting to sink in a bit, I have to tell you honestly. I have been taking part in this alcohol break for many years and that comes very easily to me – apart from a few moments. This time I started earlier, on November 8 last year. Then I decided to quit for all the right reasons and I felt really good about that. That good feeling is still there and I still haven't had a drop to drink. But there's a lot going on around me, causing the 'drive' to diminish a bit.

So there was the sudden cardiac arrest of a very good friend of mine. He is only 37 years old and to date he has not led an irresponsible lifestyle at all. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few cases in my group of friends, where those affected had no influence whatsoever on what happened to them. I will mention a cerebral hemorrhage, leukemia, cancer, congenital Cystic Fibrosis and a brain tumor. And lately, of course, there's an unavoidable virus that the whole world seems out of control. In short: without any fault of your own, something can happen to you.

Although I feel very good about not drinking alcohol, sometimes 'thinking about it' makes me tired. Now it was also the 'Week of no meat'. I don't like cheese and peanut butter. So for me it comes down to the fact that I only have sweets on bread. That's boring. Many scheduled events ahead have been cancelled. Less to live for. And if you have a mild cold, you are no longer welcome at the gym. That's why I haven't been kickboxing for a week and a half.

The concert with our percussion group together with the wind band last Friday went very well and it was a lot of fun. We have been rehearsing intensively for this for quite some time. But afterwards there was no possibility of discharge. Almost everyone around me drank wine or lager. I was often 'invited' to have a nightcap in the front cafe. I went along, although my stomach was already full from the 0.0 drinks. Nice conversations took place, but at some point people slow down and repeat themselves. Then you feel less and less at ease. This gave me a very strong sense of despair. Especially after all the tensions of the past week/weeks, I sometimes think: Let me enjoy a beer!

And yet, dear fellow IkPassers: we persevere!

That friend of mine obviously didn't choose to go through what happened to him, but he's fighting to come out stronger. Giving up is not an option for him and his family. So what does it actually represent, what I'm trying to achieve: not drinking alcohol for a few weeks?

Every year I participate in a sponsored walk of 40 kilometers. Depending on the weather conditions, it gets between 30 and 34 kilometers at its most difficult. The rest is up to you in character; it's completely in the head. I've heard that when you say you're exhausted, you've only used 40% of your power. So you still have plenty of power to achieve your goal, but you have to find it. I'm probably at that point right now. There are plenty of incentives to keep going, if you only want to see this one. I'm going to find this one soon and I'm sure I'll collect enough energy – the remaining 60%– to fit until Easter!

Have a great weekend everyone. are you having a good time? Then keep going! Like me, a sinking moment? Repack yourself!

Regards, Jeroen