As I began to understand my weekly routines, I came to recognize that my entire problem lied in the weekends. I rarely drank on weeknights, and if I did, it would usually be a couple of beers or a few glasses of wine. Nothing out of the "ordinary." However, my weekdays of consistency were completely thrown into disarray as soon as the work week would end on Friday afternoons. On my way home from work, I would grab the first tall boy I could get my hands on, and from there on I'd pretty much drink the weekends straight through. I'm talking about full blown weekend benders. Whether it was bars, parties, shows, brunches, sporting events, or days at the beach; there was a high probability that you would find me somewhere out there as drunk as a lord. Sure it may sound nice on paper, and yes there were plenty of fun times in the mix, but at the end of the day I was utterly miserable. I was unfulfilled and I was leading a life that was becoming progressively unbearable. The choice became obvious. I had to find consistency in my routines. I had to stay vigilant. I had to be true to my core beliefs and morals. I had to unify my feelings and principles with my actions at all times. I had to face my demons and I had to slay my Weekend Warrior. One of the conclusions that I made was that a lot of my personal habits and a good chunk of our societies habits relating to alcohol consumption do not pair with those of the "conventional alcoholic" and therefore should be treated as such. For that reason alone, this will be the last time that you see the word alcoholic in this book. I firmly believe that many of the traditional approaches to maintaining abstinence are very rigid and outdated, so I organized this concise "cook book" for achieving an alcohol free life in our modern society. I have provided you with the ingredients and the recipe for success, but the outcome depends on you and you alone. If you want to be successful on your road towards abstinence, you have to genuinely want it for yourself. This book will be your guide, not your bible. This book will be your best tool and at times your favorite weapon to utilize should you ever feel the urge or desire to drink alcohol. This is an alternative do it yourself approach that focuses on moving forward and rolling with positive momentum rather than dwelling in the past. We are not just quitting drinking here. We will be creating healthy and productive daily routines, as well as rediscovering our true passions with thorough and extensive self reflection. Although this is an important transitional process in our lives that we must handle with care, we must also remember to have fun with it. Abandoning the booze does not need to be all doom and gloom. This is an exciting adventure, so make it fun. I mean after all, its not everyday that we get to have a spiritual awakening of the soul. In the upcoming chapters you will learn who your Weekend Warrior is. You will learn how to fight against the cycle that has been slowly sucking the life out of you and preventing you from reaching your full potential. We will discuss quitting drinking from early stages as well as how to maintain motivation and remain abstinent long term. I have designed a four month timeline with course questions and challenges at the end of each chapter for you to carefully complete and answer honestly. These are the questions and challenges that I found exceptionally valuable in my personal journey and wish to share with you. Some of these methods are a bit unorthodox so do not feel pressured into completing anything that you feel uncomfortable with. Although it is advised, you do not have to adhere to the four month reading timeline. We all move at our own pace. This is your story. You make the rules. Just know that if you really want alcohol out of your life, you will be able to overcome this bump in the road and every aspect of your life will begin to change in ways that you would have never imagined.
