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Hello darling heart, and welcome to the drink less, live better podcast. This is the podcast that helps you to see that drinking
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less doesn't need to be stressful, lonely, or boring. I'm your host, Sarah Williamson, and I decided to have a year alcohol
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free as a little life experiment and haven't looked back. With my experience and training, I now help other women with their
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alcohol free or drink less adventures. You can find out more about me and sign up to my 5 day drink less challenge at drink
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less livebetter.com. I'm here to tell you that you can relax, connect, and have fun without alcohol in your life. Join me
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here each week to find out how. If you hang out in the sober sphere for long enough, you'll see and hear the conversations
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around how much more time you get back in your life once you stop drinking. There's no doubt about it. Alcohol is a massive
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time thief. Shopping for it, thinking about drinking it, the way productive or creative gets started, worked on, all finished
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once you've opened the bottle, and of course the time spent nursing, if not hangovers, then low level brain fog, not quite
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firing on all cylinder moods. Yep, alcohol will steal your time. One pathway towards recovery and wellness is to use some
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of that time on your physical fitness, And in one group I'm in, the lovely group members talk a lot about marathon training,
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Ironman fitness, spartan events, obstacle courses and mud runs. I can guess what each of these things are, but I have no desire
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to learn any more about them. 2 years ago, at this time of year, I put a photo in the group of my own idea of a marathon,
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which, at the time, was a marathon of marmalade making. I'd spent hours juicing, pithing, and really finely slicing my oranges
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and bubbling the marmalade on the stovetop. It's one of my absolute favourite start of the year activities, and I added a
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photo of 10 beautifully colored, rich sunset orange jars. It was my most commented post in the group ever. Oh, thank goodness.
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I thought we were only supposed to have fitness goals. Wow. Beautiful. I thought I had to have a physical challenge. Thank
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you for this. I felt left out by not going for long training runs. And that's the thing. We all have different shaped holes
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to fill in our lives. We each have 24 hours in a day, but how we fill those hours needs to feel good for us all as individuals.
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So, there's physical fitness and well-being. What other activities fill your emotional and spiritual cups? Well, this is the
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bit where I come on to talk about hobbies and pastimes. Some of us found some new ways to spend time during the pandemic.
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There was a surge in sales of jigsaws, puzzle books, board games. We took to picking up old creative activities like cake
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making and decorating, sewing, knitting, crocheting, bread baking, painting, drawing and a squillion other things. I was glad
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to see friends picking up old activities and reacquainting themselves with something they loved, but I felt frustrated. I
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wanted an actual hobby and I couldn't find one that I loved. I just couldn't stick with one thing. I did art at a level, and
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I consider myself to be creative, so why couldn't I just pick up tools and get on with something? I was so about it, and then
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I stopped. I let go of some old stories. I allowed in some new thoughts, feelings and emotions, and I was ready to rethink
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what I wanted. Are you ready for this? Okay. Well, here here it is. This is what my hobby now is. Trying new stuff. I know
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that's not a snappy, easy to understand little title, like knitting, but it works for me. I love trying new stuff. Over the
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last few years, I've made jewellery, made a macrame plant hanger, painted with acrylics, made a terrarium, embroidered, collaged,
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kintsugi'd, colored, made a clay model, and more. Trying new stuff lets down all the barriers. I don't have to be brilliant
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at anything, which the perfectionist in me is delighted about. I can play. I have freedom to explore and either love or put
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down and move on. I let go of expecting fabulous outcomes and create for joy. I either explore from equipment I have at home
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or borrow from friends. I buy kits from Etsy or similar, or ask for them as gifts, or I go and join classes for one day with
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other creatives or at adult education centers. I don't care about the cost because I'm not spending my cash on Vino anymore.
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So I'd love to know what you're doing with some of your alcohol free time. I'll gladly cheer you on for your marathon training,
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if that's your bag, and I'd also love to hear about your hobbies, or if trying new stuff is going to be your new hobby. Thank
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you for listening in again today. Please listen again next week, and PS, I believe in you.
