Well, it's the week in-between Christmas and New Year's. How do you feel? Are you excited about the New Year approaching - it's a clean slate and the possibilities abound! Or are you a little blue about the festivities coming to an end? Do you have dread of the next year? Will this year be the same?

There is so much talk about self-care. I never thought of exercise as self-care. My idea of self-care was a glass or two of wine. I felt that 20 minutes of release that I got was worth it. At first, that rush was worth it. But little did I know that those drinks were causing so much chaos internally. I mean, red wine is good for us, right? (The answer is no, but that is for another blog post!)

When a person decides to take a break, moderate, or quit drinking, it takes effort. When I first took a break, I researched programs. Just like I did fitness programs and healthy eating plans. I decided that I would commit to a break. I signed up for a program that was all about grace, compassion and judgement free and then did the work. Did I do everything? No. But I did do a lot of it, and I made it through 21 days! The next step was 30 days alcohol-free. I then continued another 30 days alcohol-free, then 100 days until I hit my goal of a year alcohol-free. By then, I felt so good that I didn't want to go back to my old lifestyle—with each step, I built stronger mental muscles. You have to use tools and tactics to keep you going forward to your goal.