The Momentum of Sobriety, and the Sobriety of Momentum

My holiday season was great. At least, it was great on paper. I had lots of family time, lots of neighborhood parties and festive work events. I slept-in to the best of this early riser’s ability on many days. I didn’t write much, didn’t record any Untoxicated Podcast episodes, spent almost no time on social media, didn’t promote my SHOUT Sobriety program, had two weeks off from high school soccer coaching and hardly watched the news at all while listening to Christmas music and watching football bowl games. I took some downtime and relaxed. During the first 11 1/2 months of the year, I put in long hours like most Americans, and the rest was well deserved. Perfect, right?

Here’s the problem. All those things I didn’t do are the things that make me feel good. There’s a line from the movie, , that often pops into my mind. Tommy’s father, and very successful business owner, Tom Sr., says, “You’re either growing or you’re dying. There ain’t no third direction.” I feel a lot of stress to keep going, and sleeping-in before watching college football doesn’t do anything to scratch that itch.

I am three years sober, and the unease I feel after a couple of relaxing weeks of semi-work does not make me want to drink. Not at all. There is literally no temptation, and that’s a huge blessing. But this is exactly the kind of uneasiness that…