‘Time Please, Ladies and Gentlemen’
So when exactly is the best time to call ‘Time please’ to put an end to this addiction once and for all? When is the best time to free yourself of a slow and progressive disease? Just when is it right to stop?
RIGHT NOW.
As people’s lives slowly deteriorate because of the effects of alcohol, they react by taking more. Those around them try to persuade them to stop and tell them they are out of control which makes them feel even more insecure. So what do they turn to? When will it stop? The answer is ‘never’ if nobody points out what is really happening. It can and will just get worse and worse and worse.
It is only fear that keeps people hooked.
You have already made up your mind that you are not going to spend the rest of your life as a drinker, so at some point you are going to stop whether you find it easy or difficult. It is only fear that keeps people hooked so don’t allow this false fear to keep you imprisoned for the rest of your life. That is exactly what these fears are
anyway. The nature of the drug is to fool you. Your problem was that you genuinely thought alcohol gave you some kind of genuine pleasure or a crutch and your fear was not being able to enjoy life or cope without it. The reason you thought this is because you had evidence to back up your fears. Even going on the wagon gave you the evidence to support your fear that you would be miserable without a drink but the fears you have are all false. They only appear real because of past attempts to stop or cut down. These fears will not recreate themselves because they were only a result of failing to understand the nature of the disease and suffering from the CAN’T syndrome (Constant And Never-ending Torture ). In other words, the fears created by alcohol mean,
FALSE EVIDENCE THAT APPEARS REAL.
That is to say that the FEAR people have of stopping drinking Appears Real because of the illusory effects of alcohol giving you False Evidence.
Going back to the wonderful Wizard of Oz, if you recall, the evil wizard never actually existed. In reality, the scary booming voice which created such incredible fears for Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion was completely false. Because they couldn’t see the reality , the false impression that the voice must belong to something that could destroy them appeared real and created a false fear which prevented them from moving forward and finding their true selves. Yet all it took for their fears to be removed was to see the truth. They
push a button which opens some curtains to reveal a little old man speaking into a microphone and moving some machinery in order to create that illusion. Once they see this, there is just no way that the voice could ever create the fear in them again and the minute they know there is nothing to fear, they move forward.
Just like the Wizard, there has never been anything to fear. The truth is that there is nothing at all to fear by stopping drinking and everything to fear by continuing . So what is the best time to get free from any disease or mental and physical slavery? What is really the best time to quit alcohol? The answer is obvious.
ASAP.
It’s similar to taking your driving test. You feel nervous for sure but once you have passed, you are euphoric. At what point does the drinker know they are free? It’s the very second they see it for what it is, finish their final drink and say, ‘That’s it. It’s over, it’s finished. I am now free.’ If they do this they are not in remission or recovery , they really are free.
The beauty of being free is that you don’t need to wait for anything to happen, because nothing is going to happen. It is the waiting that creates doubts and fears. Once you have decided never to drink again then that’s it; it is over from that point and you can jump for joy.
The key to lifelong success is to make the decision, not to hope or think ‘would,’ ‘should’ or ‘could’ but know
for certain that you will never drink again. If you hope you are going on holiday it doesn’t mean you are going anywhere but if you know for certain, then you will definitely go. Once you make a firm decision, you cut off any other possibility and doubt; so whatever happens in your future life, drinking alcohol is not just not an option but something that you have no interest in doing. You have moved on and are free.
Let’s make something very clear: the decision never to drink again is, without doubt, one of the most important decisions you will ever make. The reality is that both the length and the daily quality of your future life will depend on this decision. Some people say to me, ‘Oh yeah, but you can get run over by a bus next week.’ Of course you can, but would you take heroin because you could get run over by a bus next week and would you deliberately keep jumping in front of buses? Of course you wouldn’t. There is a bus coming along for all of us but, in the meantime, it’s the daily quality of our lives that counts, making sure we have our true courage, confidence and freedom every day.
Alcohol created so much fear in my mind that I simply thought there would be no point in living if I could not drink. Once I realised that I was, in a sense, my own jailer, the fears that had seemed so real and so strong proved to be false. Once it began to dawn on me that those unreal fears and insecurities were caused by alcohol, the decision never to drink again became the easiest I have ever made. I knew I was free even before I had my final drink and once I finished my last ever
alcoholic drink, I jumped for joy. I had been questioning my drinking habit for weeks beforehand, asking myself if it was the drink that made the evening or the company. I watched other drinkers trying to justify why they needed that particular drink, even though it was only Monday night. I knew that it didn’t do anything for me and I could see this clearly even before I stopped. On the morning after my final drink I felt terrible but, as I slowly awoke, the first thing I thought was ‘I’m free!’ It was one of the best feelings I have ever had and I have never lost it. I thought that it would be difficult for a few weeks but, far from it; I had made the concrete decision never to be dependent on alcohol again. Once you make that commitment, you’re free.
I cannot stress enough just how easy it is to stop drinking and, when simplified, it really only comes down to a few things:
Decide never to drink alcohol again.
Don’t sit around moping about it – celebrate your freedom.
Get some live nutrients flowing through your system in the first week.
That’s it. It really can be that simple. It is only the indecision and regret that makes it difficult. The withdrawal from alcohol is no more than a hangover lasting a little longer than a day and we have all dealt with many of those in the past, although perhaps become immune to recently. If you start with a feeling of excitement
and freedom you won’t even be aware of it. You will be too relieved and happy to be bothered about any brief physical withdrawal. It is the doubt and uncertainty that causes the pangs which some people describe as withdrawal but it is all in the mind. This is why it is so important to start in a happy frame of mind so that the period of adjustment will be easy and enjoyable. I have said that it is important to read this entire book as that way you will find freedom not only easy and enjoyable to achieve but, most importantly, it will be permanent. If you have understood the trap at this stage I cannot blame you for being like Mr Itch of Itching Town to break free, but please wait. It is essential that you fully understand …