Before I launch into brainstorming my next SOLE GOAL, I think I need to really unpack the booze snooze goal and why it worked for me. Reflecting on the snooze will help set the tone for my upcoming goal, and it will also give positive reinforcement to all that I accomplished in the last 365 days.
The very first week of the booze snooze I was pretty real with myself and acknowledged my failed attempts to make lifestyle changes in the past. At the time, I was aware that I easily lose momentum and ultimately decide that other things are more important than what I am working on. Because of that weakness, I decided to try and focus on just ONE thing for an entire year to see if that would have a bigger impact on my ability to persevere. I was also curious to see the length of the goal had any positive or negative effects on my success.
So why did a 365-day booze snooze work for me?
1. I had a “why” right from the beginning. I didn’t begin day one of the snooze until I wrote down my reasons for starting. My goal was linked to a bigger purpose, which gave it meaning and drove me forwar
2. The goal may have been long and lofty, but this was effective for me. I know I could have easily stopped drinking for 30 days or 60 days, but I knew that was not long enough to establish a long-term change in my life. I need lots and lots of days to practice something before it feels routine.
3. The goal was black and white. It was not fuzzy or abstract such as goals like “I am going to get healthy” or “I want to have a more positive attitude”. It was very clear to me each day; I either had a drink or I didn’t. This simplicity helped eliminate the potential excuses that could derail my goal.
4. My initial fears of taking on a challenge that seemed so big forced me to think about obstacles I might encounter along the way.
5. I leveraged accountability. Blogging and publishing my thoughts to the Facebook world kept me accountable. I knew people were watching me, rooting for me, and curious. There was no way I wanted to fail in the eyes of other people. There was no way to hide.
6. I had a support system. My husband committed to the snooze with me. Doing this together made it more fun and we bonded over the struggles and our feelings of success.
7. Even though I was giving up something and depriving myself of some small pleasure or indulgence, maybe it was my way of positively turning my life back toward what God wants for me.
8. NOT being allowed to do something each day was kind of easy. Prior to the snooze, I didn’t drink every single day. So, in reality, I wasn’t really working on the snooze daily. I was only working on it when I would have typically had a drink.
But what if I flip the script this time around?
I wonder what will happen if I change my goal from something I CAN’T do each day, to something I CAN do each day? I am thinking this might be a whole lot harder for me. This would be stepping up my SOLE GOAL game because I truly will have to focus on my goal every single day. The goal will still need to be very black and white- I either do something or I don’t. There cannot be any grey areas because this opens the door to excuses. It is normal to let excuses creep in when things get challenging but excuses will always sabotage forward progress.
It is time to build off the 8 reasons the booze snooze goal worked for me, start with a clean slate, and create what I want for the next year. I know with deliberate planning and execution that anything is possible.