Mac’s Recovery @betterjasonmac

Here’s something I bet most people wouldn’t admit. Every single time I was ever involved in a negative interaction with law enforcement alcohol was involved. I was also guilty roughly 97 percent of the time a cop ever accused me of something whether I beat it in court or not.

I’m not one of those guys that has one drink and ends up face down in a dumpster or jail when I wake up. I drank too much alcohol for a couple decades daily, now I’m looking to live a healthier lifestyle. This is not “Russian Roulette” for me, one more is not putting me in the…

The reason I honestly document what I’m doing is that I want real feedback. Well and I hate lying. It’s easy to make up a story, I like to write. But I won’t turn this into the fiction section just because that’s what gets likes and views. That’s doesn’t help anyone.

I don’t like the cascading domino theory that’s normalized in our culture. Just because you made one bad decision in your day doesn’t mean you have to write off the entire thing. One thing that bothered me when I posted everyday about not drinking was people that would follow…

Day whatever no alcohol. I drank a fifty milliliter Jameson on the rocks yesterday. I did it to see how I feel about it today and here’s what I found. 1. I still like the taste of whiskey. 2. I’m not interested in picking up drinking again. This is not a game of gotcha, it’s…

Day 106 no alcohol. I considered having a drink today to see how I felt about it. I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to have one. I’m not struggling, I’m not in need of a meeting, it was just on my mind today. So I just drank coffee and thought awhile. Still sober.

When I see one of those ads that tell you how to get rich through automatic car washes, landscaping, or rental property it reminds me of quitting drinking. Always good ideas but no description of what it takes. Hard work, experience, and repeated failure are usually the answer.

My wife was pretty quietly happy while I didn’t drink for 100 days. But since then she’s been trying to get me to commit to another goal. She knows if I say it I’ll do it, one of my shortcomings is being pretty transparent and stubborn. What bothers me is the word she used to…

Day 101 no alcohol. I was bored and this is kind of a habit now. So yea. I still didn’t drink today.

I used to tell myself “I don’t really want to be sober all day”. I never gave a good reason, it’s just what I said. My counter argument to this lately is simply “But why? You don’t really want to not be sober all day either”. It creates a stalemate until I can answer the…

Day 100 no alcohol. What did I learn? That improving myself is going to take longer than 100 days. I’ve got a good start, now it’s time to see what I can build on the foundation. I kept my word and did the 100, that is important to me. Now it’s a daily personal decision, not…

I’m about a 250 dollar a week drinker and about a 100 dollar a week smoker. If you start adding this stuff up on a daily basis it’ll blow your mind. It infuriates me that I maintained a 1400 dollar a month combination of habits for any amount of time much less decades. I know…

Day 99 no alcohol. Well I’m pretty confident I’ll make it to 100 at this point. This has been an interesting 3 months. I’ve made a lot of progress and a lot of positive changes in my life. I want to thank everyone one last time that’s stuck around and helped me with…

Day 98 no alcohol. I no longer unconsciously walk towards the beer section of the gas station. I don’t instinctively go a certain way when I set out to stop by a liquor store. I don’t wake up thinking about a drink. I don’t even miss it much honestly. 100 was a good goal.

Day 97 no alcohol. I’m different now than I was on day one. I don’t think I’m a different person, I think I’m just more present when I show up somewhere or interact with someone. I have more interest in people and activities if I’m not looking to go drink. It’s progress.

Day 96 no alcohol. I’ve heard repeatedly throughout this experience: “it’s strong to show such vulnerability” or “wow I’d never be brave enough to show such weakness.” These actually bother me more than trolls or AA absolutists that hang around my posts. Because they are…

Day 95 no alcohol. I’ve had a lot of realizations along the way to 100. None more important than these. Patience is important because this is a slow and tedious process, a marathon not a race. Consistency is important, if you don’t even show up to try, failure is certain.

I used to bite my nails all the time. When I wore the Invisalign braces for a couple years I unintentionally broke the habit because you can’t bite your nails with them in. Now I have the problem of letting my nails get too long, but it’s not a disgusting and unsanitary problem…

Day 94 no alcohol. I’m not gonna sit here and tell you this has been easy because I’ve struggled. I won’t tell you my life did a complete 180 the day I quit drinking because that would be nonsense. I do see the potential positive effects, but I don’t think 100 days is enough…

One thing I’ve found useful since I quit drinking is to use “we want” instead of “I want” when considering a decision. The “we” includes my wife and kids. Because while I may want to get drunk after work or on the weekend, “we” never want that. It adds outside perspective.