I don't have to drink

Well dude, today I'm already at a quarter of my 100-day IkPas Challenge and I haven't had one notable difficult moment so far. Is it boring?! And because I have already participated in IkPas before, the pleasant feeling of not having to drink alcohol is also very familiar to me.

Does that sound weird that you don't 'have' to drink? Is there anyone forcing you to drink? Actually not no! But the use of alcohol is so very normal and well established in our society that it sometimes feels almost deviant to say 'no' to alcohol. Especially in social situations. Or is that just me? A few decades ago smoking had a similar position and now look at it. There are all kinds of tools, courses and treatments to quit smoking. Would alcohol use suffer the same fate? Is it conceivable that alcohol consumption will no longer be the norm in ten or twenty years' time? That in the coming years there will also be all kinds of tools and treatments to get rid of alcohol? If the increasing participation in IkPas and DryJanuary are indicative of a certain trend, then so be it. 

For me personally, the thoughts of giving up alcohol completely, even after my IkPas period, are popping up more and more often. That's not new, I've had that every IkPas period. Apparently it is much easier for me to give up alcohol altogether, than to keep measure. What will I do after my personal challenge? I do not know yet. My ultimate goal is to be able to enjoy a nice drink every now and then without going overboard (in my opinion). But is that an achievable goal for me? For the time being, I'm not allowed to drink alcohol for another 75 days to achieve my short-term goal and that's great. 

At the end of last week I was asked through my contact person at IkPas whether I was interested in joining the television program 5 Uur Live of RTL4 during a conversation about good intentions. If the recording studio had been around the corner from me, I would have been quite up for it, but since the studio is in Amsterdam and I would have lost half a day just traveling back and forth, I kindly for thanks. Too bad, because as a starting blogger I would have had nice material to blog about. Since I blog for IkPas I see a clear increase in the number of visitors to my own website. That is undeniably the power of 'exposure' and I am very happy about that. Because it's great fun to blog, but if no one reads it, I'm afraid that my motivation to keep writing will be tested a bit. Don't get me wrong, I really write in the first place because I just really enjoy writing. Keeping a blog was one of the items on my bucket list, just like getting a tattoo. I started it without any particular expectation or end goal. However, I think writing will only remain fun if you can share what you write, in my case my personal experience with what I do to live a happy, healthy, smart and sustainable life. That's where the caregiver in me comes into play. I hope my readers can benefit from what I write. My blog can serve as entertainment, but since it's personal stories and experiences, I hope it goes a little further and deeper than that. But that is ultimately up to the reader.

Anyway, I've given myself a fair share of 'exposure' on television, so I'll take the opportunity to draw attention to my website here. Just take a look at www.bambobeertje.nl and let me know what you think.

This week my wife and I are dating 100 months. Besides the birth of our children and our wedding day, the day we started dating is a very memorable day for me. So I didn't want to let 100 months of courtship pass unnoticed and we're going to celebrate it in the city that is the basis of our love for each other, Maastricht. I have booked a nice hotel and we are going to enjoy the nice things Maastricht has to offer for a few days. We go to the theater, eat out, go to the movies, meet up with friends, stroll through the city and – very important – I get new running shoes measured. I also bought my current running shoes in Maastricht years ago, but they need to be replaced by now. Do I dread not drinking alcohol during our stay in Maastricht? No, not at all! If I weren't busy with IkPas, the alcohol would probably flow freely and I'll probably come back more tired than when we went. This time we both leave the alcohol and that's totally fine. We're just going to enjoy the city and each other and maybe this time I'll come back more rested than when we left. You can read that and more from next Sunday in my next blog about 'happy living' on my own site.

Until next week!