One of the most common things that coaching clients tell me is how frustrated they are at not being able to control their drinking.
“I have no willpower.”
“Why can’t I be more disciplined?”
“No-one else around me seems to have an issue with this. Why me?”
This thinking is so familiar to me not only because I hear it so often, it’s also what I used to say to myself.
However, there is nothing wrong with these women, nor was there anything wrong with me.
The women I coach all have their lives in order (well as much in order as anyone does) and are disciplined in other areas of their lives.
Yet they beat themselves up for not having a better handle on the way they drink.
As someone who has heard this from multiple women, let me assure you that you are not the only one who is concerned with their drinking or is finding it difficult to cut back or stop altogether.
It’s not you; it’s alcohol
The reason it is difficult to cut back or stop using willpower alone is due to the complex way alcohol works in our brains and bodies, including:
- your brain’s response to alcohol,
- decision fatigue,
- impaired decision making and
- increased tolerance.
If you want to know more, I explain this in my free guide Four reasons why moderation is so difficult.
If you’re relying on willpower and habit change alone to cut back on your drinking, it’s going to be hard no matter how disciplined you are.
And then when you ‘fail’, you blame yourself. It’s a vicious cycle that doesn’t solve the problem and makes you lose confidence in yourself.
That’s why working on mindset shifts, rather than willpower, is so important if you want to have a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude to alcohol.
It’s the way to feel empowered rather than trapped.
Want to know more?
If you want to know more about how coaching can help you gain back control of your drinking – without willpower – you can book in for a free 30-minute discussion calls.
These calls are like a free mini coaching session where you get to experience how coaching works and ask any questions you may have.
If you’re interested click on my online calendar to find a date and time that suits you.
Image courtesy of Pexels: Karolina Grabowska