Man who quit booze says he has 'one trick' you have to use to stop drinking for good
If you are someone who struggles to imagine how on earth people stop drinking for good, listen up, as this man reckons he has the perfect hack to help you along the way.
Self-improvement coach Clark Kegley shared some of the tips and tricks he's picked up throughout his sobriety journey in the hopes that they will be of service to other people in the same boat.
In a YouTube video, the motivational speaker, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, explained that cutting out the booze 'completely changed his life', hence why he has vowed to 'never' touch the stuff again.
Although Clark says he didn't have a severe problem with alcohol, he came to the realisation that he had an 'unhealthy relationship' with it which he needed to nip in the bud.
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"I abused it, I relied on it and I didn't like the slippery slope it was heading down," he explained in the clip which was posted in March last year. "And that's when I knew it was time for a change."
So Clark decided to set himself a 30 day challenge where he ditched drinking... which then turned into 60 days, then 90 days and now, he says it has stuck for good.
"Look, if you would have told me in my 20s I'd be stone cold sober in my 30s, I would have told you hold my beer," the social media star said. "But sober living completely changed my life."
He said that despite what people may think, you can still socialise and enjoy yourself without alcohol.
Clark explained: "Just because I don't drink doesn't mean I can't still go out with friends. My girlfriend still drinks when we go out, I have friends and family that I go out to restaurants with and they'll still drink and let loose.
"I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything because of my mantra - not being hungover feels better than being drunk."
If you would like to take a leaf out of his book but worry about how you will stick to being sober, Clark says he has the perfect 'trick' to help you.
He said: "When you view giving up drinking as that you're giving something up, it is infinitely harder to stick to that habit. "Because in the back your mind, you're like feeling like you lost something.
'Like I gave up the nights out with my friends, I gave up the buzz I get when I drink, I gave up the fun, I gave up the being social and so of course, you're always going to want to go back.
"But here's a psychology trick you need to play on yourself.
"This is really deep okay and this works for any habit change, any addiction, any positive or negative thing you're trying to add or remove into your life. Flip it from you're giving something up to you're gaining something."
Essentially, Clark believes it's all about changing your mindset.
"You're not giving up nights out with your friends, you're gaining presence of where you can actually remember your social interactions and go deeper with people and build on that," he continued.
"You're not giving up your dating life and going out for drinks on a first date, you're gaining the filter that not drinking puts on people who only want to party and maybe you wouldn't even get along with if you were sober.
"There are so many things you gain from it and if you can just focus on what you're gaining, not just what you're losing, that's how you make a habit stick in my personal opinion."
Topics: Alcohol, Health, Mental Health, Food And Drink, YouTube
Olivia Burke