Experiments In Sobriety – 5 Things I’ve Accomplished In 1 Month

by Derek Johanson

in Goals

I like experiments and analyzing then enhancing performance based on the results.

When I announced that I was going to be experimenting with not drinking any alcohol what-so-ever for three months, I sparked some controversy. Mostly, my readers called me gay or told me I should live my life. There wasn’t a lot of positivity floating around.

The main reason I chose to experiment with no alcohol was because I wanted to remain focused on several goals I have right now. I needed to break the party cycle I’d been on for the last 5 months in South America.

Below is what I’ve accomplished during this past month without taking a sip of alcohol.

  1. Readership on Live Uncomfortably has increased by over 7X.
  2. I’ve had 3 travel articles published (a 4th is on the way) and got a lot of good feedback.
  3. Talk Muse is starting to get interesting. I found a hungry market and I’m going to go ahead and create an information product. I’ll be posting updates there in the next day or two.
  4. I’ve Increased every lift in the gym by at least 20 lbs. Some by 30 to 40 lbs.
  5. Energy levels have been through the roof.

At first glance, these results sound incredible. I might think, “Why would I ever drink again?” But that’s NOT the conclusion I’ve drawn from it.

The reason I haven’t come to that conclusion is because I believe I could have had these same results if I had drank a bit of alcohol during this month. I don’t think drinking a few beers on my nights out would have negatively effected any of my accomplishments. And that’s the reason why I got rid of alcohol in the first place.

So now I’m going to be adding a few drinks back into the equation. No, I’m not going to be getting trashed and I’m still going to be measuring progress and viewing this as an experiment. If I notice alcohol starting to interfere then I’ll phase it out again. I know my goals and I intend to reach them.

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Brian S. April 17, 2009 at 2:13 pm

welcome back

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Tait Campbell April 18, 2009 at 9:34 am

He’s BACKKK!I was beginning to phase you out as my BFF and soulmate but I’m glad to see you back. I’m proud of you for failing to complete your goal. I miss you butter cakes!

PS. Ryan Johanson please make fun of your brother I could use a good laugh.

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Derek April 18, 2009 at 9:45 am

Thanks for your support Tait and I’m sure my brother has something good coming down the pipes.

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Mike April 18, 2009 at 4:45 pm

Wow. Way to streeeetch out a list of 5 “accomplishments”. Only items 4 and 5 have any relevance to the effects of drinking.

So what was that post you had about moderation? Yeah, thats what i thought…

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Derek April 19, 2009 at 9:25 pm

Mike I don’t know if you read the last two posts all the way through. I added alcohol back because it’s not going to interfere with my goals.

When I first started the experiment I thought it might conflict, but I came to realize that it wont. When I start to try to lose fat that will be another story.

I think all the things I accomplished were directly related to me setting goals and not necessarily alcohol. That’s what these little experiments I do are for.

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