Post: #676

5 months in, still going strong, the injury from falling off the bike keep me from working out however.

How do you cure swelling leg?

Post: #677

(09-27-2014 12:01 PM)Felix88 Wrote:  5 months in, still going strong, the injury from falling off the bike keep me from working out however.

How do you cure swelling leg?

If the injury just happened (within the last day or two) icing it every now and then can help reduce the inflammation. You can ice it for 15-20 minutes at a time (not longer). Put the ice in an ice pack or wrap it in a towel, don't place it directly on your skin.

If it's been more than a couple of days there is not much you can do but wait for the inflammation to go down. Taking a break of a week or so from working out is not necessarily a bad idea once in a while.

Post: #678

Not drinking is awesome when you can wake up and actually feel excited to start the day fresh. It's a beautiful thing. It's almost like cheating, because normal people are still in bed on the weekends while we're getting shit done. Anyone who is on the wagon should take advantage of all of the newly gained free time to create some websites to make some extra cash.

Still on board going on about 6 months.

Post: #679

Dammit I only made it two weeks! I fell victim to the little voice in my head. All my buddies were out partying and I couldn't resist! Another classic two day hangover followed- what a waste of a weekend.

Sept 29 is my new start date. Very disappointed that after a dry five months I have been struggling to put over two weeks together.

But there is no point in feeling sorry for myself- what's done is done, let's just see if I can string together a couple of weeks before beating myself up too much.

The key is to avoid having to make this post again- I hate to disappoint the Lizard of Oz!

Post: #680

komatiite, I am honored that you would think about disappointing me.

Yeah, no need to beat yourself up too much. Just restart and remember to stay disciplined next time there is an occasion to be tempted. Sometimes that's all it takes -- to remember that you've made a decision and are sticking to it come what may.

Welcome aboard again as of September 29.

Post: #681

I fell just shy of 500 days on my first wagon attempt. I had a few pulls of brandy while out hiking in the Oregon wilderness, and ordered a Mac and Jack amber ale (one of my favorite beers in the world) with dinner once I got back to civilization. I'm not disappointed and I didn't use the occasion to springboard into a bender. In fact, I'm pleased I made it as far as I did on my initial wagon.

That said, I'm back on as of 9/23 (retroactive).

Post: #682

Quote: I didn't use the occasion to springboard into a bender

That is such a good line- it seems like every time I feel like recommitting to the wagon since I fell off, I somehow convince myself that "it's only been a week since you started the wagon again, not a big deal if you get drunk again, you can restart after the weekend." The hardest part is getting past that for me- it's been going on since June/July!

Will try to be more honest with myself by posting on this thread more, I need to just get over that hump of the first few weeks and it will gradually get easier- it really sucks breaking a wagon that is multiple months long!

Post: #683

komatiite - I hear ya. You've already proved to yourself that you can handle five dry months, so just follow your own advice. Gather a bit of momentum and hop back on.

(09-30-2014 03:51 PM)komatiite Wrote:  it seems like every time I feel like recommitting to the wagon since I fell off, I somehow convince myself that "it's only been a week since you started the wagon again, not a big deal if you get drunk again, you can restart after the weekend."

I was initially worried about having these same thoughts after my brief break from the wagon, but as soon as I got back from the Northwest, I kept myself occupied with work, fitness, and girls - the things I devoted a lot of time and mental energy towards since my initial wagon started. I hardly even had a chance to dwell on the brandy and beer. Before I knew it a week had passed, and I was already comfortably back to my status quo of not drinking. Perhaps it's a self defense mechanism of the wagon - the habits you establish can distract you enough to reclaim some momentum, even after a brief stumble.

Post: #684

I've just recently hit 4 months on the wagon. I went through a really dull period where nothing seemed exciting and nothing seemed fun.

I think I could be on the tail end of that.

A lot of good things have been unfolding recently.

Post: #685

Well done Fisto.
Have you been going out at nights at all lately?
What have you been keeping yourself busy with?

The dullness sounds familiar.

Post: #686

(10-02-2014 05:39 AM)Chaos Wrote:  Well done Fisto.
Have you been going out at nights at all lately?
What have you been keeping yourself busy with?

The dullness sounds familiar.

Yeah been going out a lot. I hate it. It's really zero fun. I do it because I make myself to be social.

I'm in a lot better shape now, I've been doing crossfit and feel much better.

Post: #687

Fisto, 4 months is a very solid early milestone. It could not have been easy getting there. Well done.

Now, as that first harsh emptiness departs, it is crucial to consolidate the gains, and let those good things that you talk about unfold -- without pressing or rushing anything.

Post: #688

I'm in starting today . I was blacked out most nights my last time away from work.

I dont even enjoy being drunk like I used to. I wish I could have a couple and stop but I cant just have one like Pringles chips.

Post: #689

Only a couple weeks in, but it's mind-blowing how quickly you feel better if you've been been getting hammered almost every day for a long time. Makes all the putting off of the decision seem ludicrous in retrospect.

My income has already gone up substantially, I'm knocking loads of shit off the to-do list (thanks to "Getting Things Done), I'm hitting the gym regularly again, I'm getting up about 5 hours earlier, I'm thinking way clearer, and I'm in a lot better mood. I went out and did windsprints today in the hot ass sun and it was a beautiful feeling - just 10 days ago, there's no way I'd have crawled out of bed for that. Maybe it's not like that for everyone, but I almost become a completely different person every time I kick the sauce.

I know a lot of that euphoria kind of balances out, but the important part is I'm making progress in a lot of areas that have been put off for a long time and that will have long-term results.

Hasn't been hard at all either, just like last time. Almost easier than last time, actually - I think that's due to the knowledge that fooling myself "just a few" is okay can easily lead to a 9-month run of insanity. Having a steady girl, which holds off the temptation of hitting nightclubs to get laid, is a big help too. She was a partier when we first met but pretty much follows my lead and has zero interest in going out now that I don't.

Great to hear about your progress, Fisto. 4 month mark is about when I started drinking again last time. I was reading some stuff I wrote in a journal around that time, and it looks like I went through a similar dull phase right around then, which may have been a big part of why I started drinking again. Props for pushing through.

Oh, on a sexual note, my stamina has skyrocketed, but my drive for sex has tapered off a bit. I was nailing my chick 2 or 3 times a day most days, but now I seem satisfied with one more often than not, and would possibly even skip it here and there if she didn't initiate.

That said, I'm hyper-focused on work, reading, and self-improvement right now, and I've noticed a similar thing happen when I was really focused in the past. I tend to be obsessive and extreme about things in my life (cue my drinking habits) and the various facets of my life tend to each take their turn in the foreground at different times. Sometimes it's sex. Sometimes it's work. Sometimes it's something else.

Maybe more balance is something to work on another time; for now I'm happy with the way things are.

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Rudyard Kipling

Post: #690

BB, you crack me up!
You sound so suspiciously positive so it makes me think you are writing this drunk!
(Kidding)
Glad to see things are going fine for you.

Me myself is 1 month in today.
Certainly nothing to brag about, but it's a step in the right direction.

Post: #691

^ Nope, not drunk. Just wired up on enough crank to kill a water buffalo. Does that count as sober?

If you go back and read some of my posts last time around, I was just as pumped. I had a lot of guys email me to say my posts on the matter convinced them to jump on board. I get as intense about self-improvement when I'm sober as I do raising hell when I'm wasted. Should get quite a bit done this year.

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Rudyard Kipling

Post: #692

BB is getting things done a book? What book is it?

Post: #693

(10-03-2014 09:35 AM)pitt Wrote:  BB is getting things done a book? What book is it?

It's called "Within Borders" an epic struggle of sobriety abroad.

Post: #694

Really positive things have been happening lately. Things are just "unfolding" as lizard puts it.

It's so strange because some of these things are happening at the perfect time. If they had happened when I was drinking I would have either missed them or wasted them.

I wish I wasn't such a hard learner.

Post: #695

(10-03-2014 01:26 AM)Brian Shima Wrote:  I'm in starting today . I was blacked out most nights my last time away from work.

I dont even enjoy being drunk like I used to. I wish I could have a couple and stop but I cant just have one like Pringles chips.

Brian, are you in for the full year?

Post: #696

(10-03-2014 05:56 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  I know a lot of that euphoria kind of balances out

Yes, it does. The initial euphoric "pink elephant" phase wears off, and is eventually succeeded by a phase that is characterized by emptiness, dullness and boredom. That will be the key time to hunker down and stick it out.

Post: #697

(10-03-2014 09:35 AM)pitt Wrote:  BB is getting things done a book? What book is it?

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Don...hings+done

One of the well-known time management and productivity books out there. It has a huge, obsessive following.

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Rudyard Kipling

Post: #698

(10-03-2014 08:53 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 05:56 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  I know a lot of that euphoria kind of balances out

Yes, it does. The initial euphoric "pink elephant" phase wears off, and is eventually succeeded by a phase that is characterized by emptiness, dullness and boredom. That will be the key time to hunker down and stick it out.

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Rudyard Kipling

Post: #699

(10-03-2014 11:24 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 08:53 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 05:56 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  I know a lot of that euphoria kind of balances out

Yes, it does. The initial euphoric "pink elephant" phase wears off, and is eventually succeeded by a phase that is characterized by emptiness, dullness and boredom. That will be the key time to hunker down and stick it out.

Beyond Borders, you're not supposed to post a fellow member's pic without permission.

Post: #700

Oz, I broke my rule last night after going out with a rock star. I'm in starting now. I'll be out with a buddy so this is the ultimate test.