The 100-day challenge

What have I started? I signed up to write a weekly blog for IkPas. That had a different effect than I expected. Read on and I'll explain it to you.

In January I participated in Dry January for the fourth time. It had been good in previous years. Take a break to convince myself that I can do without alcohol. After that I could enjoy my wine, beer or whiskey even more. Because I am a lover.

This year I decided to stick to it for a month. 28 days in February, that should be doable. And it was doable. It was even excellent. Go to bed a little earlier, read some more or listen to 'With a view to tomorrow'. And also a sense of power. I am the boss. No daily struggles about whether or not to drink alcohol. No is no.

(I must confess that in February I drank one Belgian beer twice after practicing with my music mate K.. That's pretty much part of it after playing. Chilling, listening to some music and catching up over a beer. Then felt no urge to drink on other days.)

And then came March. And then the e-mails from IkPas arrived. Are you also participating in the 40-day challenge? I thought back to my Catholic childhood. On Ash Wednesday we collected an ashes cross in the church and then Lent began. 40 days. We children each had a candy cane. We stored sweets that we got from mother, grandmother, aunts and others in that mess. To make us feel sick on Easter Monday.

Okay, then I'll continue my alcohol-free existence for another month. Then it is a total of 100 days! That's how long I've had since I was 14^e no more no drinking! And when IkPas asked who wanted to write a blog, I thought: I'll take that as well. Enough to say about alcohol.

That turned out to be a miscalculation. Yes, there is plenty to say about alcohol. And I will do that in the coming blogs. But at the same time, because of the promise to write weekly, I am much more involved with alcohol in my head than I actually want to. January and February passed fairly easily. Without too much temptation. Apparently not drinking can also become a habit. And the non-alcoholic beers are getting tastier.

It has been in my head for the past few days. What should I write about? Whether you are also dependent on alcohol if you take 1 or 2 drinks every day and you have trouble skipping a day? About the books I've read about alcohol? About the bottles in my drinks cabinet? About why I participate in IkPas? About my love-hate relationship with alcohol? Meanwhile, I'm getting more and more hungry for an alcoholic snack.

I thought the blog for IkPas would be a nice stick to keep it going for another 40 days. It turns out (at least for the first few days) that a Trojan horse is pushing me against my relationship with alcohol. So be it. I have now committed, and I am fulfilling that promise. There is indeed enough to say about alcohol. And about what it means to me. Stay tuned.

I wish everyone who participates in IkPas good luck. Don't think too much about it. I read somewhere that a new habit takes an average of 60 days to develop. The longer you don't drink, the easier it gets. We will see.

Jos in short

My name is Jos Leijen, almost 62 years old and a copywriter by profession. I work as a freelancer and write texts for websites, annual reports, brochures and magazines. In addition, I give harmonica 2 evenings a week. Music is my great hobby. Besides teaching I play in a folk band and together with a guitarist. We perform regularly, although that has become a lot less with all the lockdowns.

The 40-day challenge is my third abstinence period in a row. I started with Dry January and added KortDroog to it. Actually, I only planned to be dry in January. But deep inside me there is a desire to live completely without alcohol. That's why I didn't drink in February either. And now March and the first 10 days of April. 'To unlearn it', as my grandmother used to say. 

I have always been a lover of a good drink. Long ago I was the regular 'beer correspondent' for a catering magazine. A new beer on the market? Opening of the bock beer season? I was there and wrote about it. And once I also had a large collection of whiskeys. Started collecting after a lovely holiday in Scotland 20 years ago. There are still a few bottles left.

For the past 3 years I have participated in Dry January. But after a dry month, I kept falling back into old habits. As De Dijk sang: 'Bad habits are often the best'. Not that I drank a lot or was drunk regularly. But soon 1 or 2 drinks every day, then going to bed a little too late, and then having trouble getting up. And above all, the feeling that I was not in charge. It's easier for me not to drink at all than to drink occasionally.

And now another 40 days. To motivate myself extra, I signed up to write a weekly blog for IkPas. As an extra stick behind the door. It will be a challenge anyway, because in March I celebrate my birthday. No bottle of port, beer package or whiskey tasting this year. It will be an interesting period. I will keep you informed through my blog. I wish everyone who participates with IkPas every success. It is going to succeed. On to Easter.