Stop Waiting to Feel Ready to Quit Drinking / EP 136

Listen to the PODCAST Here
Watch the Podcast on YouTube Here  
🧡 Book a clarity call with me and let's chat: https://calendly.com/williams-ruby/discovery-call.

Why motivation may not come first... and three surprisingly simple ways to start changing your relationship with alcohol before you feel ready.

Have you ever thought:

“I really want to change my drinking... I’m just waiting until I feel ready.”

Maybe after vacation. After the holidays. When work settles down. Next Monday.

I know this pattern because I lived it.

I spent years believing some future version of me... what I call “Tomorrow Ruby”... would suddenly wake up motivated enough to stop drinking.

But here's what I eventually learned:

Motivation doesn't always create action. Sometimes action creates motivation.

Stop Waiting for the Lightning Bolt

We tend to imagine change beginning with a dramatic moment.

"That's it! I'm DONE!"

Sometimes that happens.

But you don't need a rock bottom, health crisis, DUI, diagnosis, or enormous burst of motivation before you're allowed to question your drinking.

You can begin because something inside you is simply whispering:

“I don't want to keep doing this.”

That's enough.

Instead of waiting for motivation to magically arrive, try one small action. Listen to a podcast. Read a book. Attend a meeting. Try one alcohol-free evening.

Action creates evidence.

And evidence can create motivation.

#1: Make One Decision

Forever is overwhelming.

So don't start with forever.

Instead, ask yourself:

“What is one loving decision I can make for myself today?”

Maybe it's skipping tonight's wine.

Maybe it's taking a walk instead of pouring a drink.

Maybe it's waking up tomorrow without a hangover.

One decision made from self-love can become the beginning of another... and another.

You're not committing to the rest of your life.

You're choosing yourself today.

#2: Borrow Hope

What if you don't believe you can do this?

Borrow somebody else's belief.

I talk about how powerful it can be to find people who are living the life you want and allow their experience to become evidence that change is possible.

That's one of the gifts of coaching and alcohol-free communities.

Someone can hold hope for you before you're capable of holding it yourself.

Eventually... their hope becomes your evidence.

#3: Replace Pressure With Curiosity

Instead of:

"I can never drink again."

Try:

"I wonder what Friday night would feel like without alcohol?"

Instead of:

"What's wrong with me?"

Try:

"I wonder what's really underneath this urge?"

Curiosity lowers the pressure.

It turns sobriety from a punishment into an experiment.

And experiments don't require perfection... they simply give us information.

Maybe You’ve Been Growing Roots

One of my favorite metaphors from this episode is the Chinese bamboo tree.

For years, it can appear as though almost nothing is happening above ground. Meanwhile, underneath the soil, an enormous root system is developing. Then suddenly... growth becomes visible.

Alcohol freedom can feel the same way.

Every book you've read.

Every podcast you've listened to.

Every Dry January.

Every time you've questioned your drinking.

Every attempt that you thought “didn't work.”

Maybe none of it was wasted.

Maybe you've been growing roots.

You don't need to know exactly when your breakthrough will happen.

You just need to keep watering the bamboo.

And perhaps today...

your next tiny action is enough.
_______

🧡 Book a clarity call with me and let's chat: https://calendly.com/williams-ruby/discovery-call

Website for Ruby Williams at Freedom Renegade Coaching https://www.freedomrenegadecoaching.com/

Follow Coach Ruby: @rubywilliamscoaching
🧡 Email: [email protected]

Grab your copy of our FREE WineFree Weekend Guide to help you on your alcohol free journey. https://www.freedomrenegadecoaching.com/WineFreeWeekend