They like to think of themselves as free, rebels, living life how they want. They party hard and really believe they’re the wild ones, the ones who do things differently.
They break the social norms. They flash dicks if they’re men and tits if they’re girls.
But drinkers are Yes Men. Yes Women. Yes People.
What happens if you ask a drinker ‘do you want a drink?’ They’ll say YES. They always say yes. They say nothing but yes. They’re programmed to say yes. They’re YES people.
They conform. They conform to the group’s expectations of them. And with a group of drinkers, that expectation is to drink. To drink and get drunk, like you did last time. Everyone has a role, to drink, to drink together and get drunk together.
It doesn’t matter if you got sick from drink last week. You’ll be expected to drink like you always do tonight. Even if you’d like a soft drink, you won’t because you’re a conformist. You’re scared of what will happen to your image if you don’t live up to expectations. Someone offers you a drink, you’ll say YES and then you’re in the circle of ‘rounds’. The circle of ‘yes’. Hey, drinker, YOU ARE A CONFORMIST! You sacrifice what’s good for you for the misguided benefit of the pack.
Be angry with me, if you want. I’m only a half rebel at the moment. I want to be a full rebel. To be the man I know I an. But I’m still not a full rebel. I know because I was a conformist and occasionally I still am. I still say ‘Yes’ when I mean ‘No’. I still am susceptible to saying ‘Yes’ despite what’s good for me.
Drinkers – don’t fool yourselves! You’re not rebels! You’re yes people. Can you say no to a drink? Can you drink water in the pub? Can you be calm when you’re drinking non-alcoholic drinks in a bar?
You don’t have to be a conformist. You can be a rebel too. Put your interests first. Sometimes it takes guts to say ‘NO’.
Other Articles on Moderate Drinking
About the Moderate Drinker
How to be a moderate drinker
How many times have you been drunk in your life!
Why the British drink so much
Showing posts with label say no. Show all posts
Showing posts with label say no. Show all posts
Friday, 13 April 2012
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Quick update
Mostly Successful
I haven’t posted for more than three month but being a ‘moderate drinker’ has largely been successful.
Going Backwards
I went backwards a couple of times. I got drunk a couple of times over the Christmas period but in general I drank much less than I normally did at Christmas.
The biggest step backwards was in January, when I went to Taiwan for two weeks. I used to live in Taiwan and it was great catching up with everyone. Unfortunately, I drank like my old-self, perhaps with a tiny bit more restraint. I got really drunk a couple of times and I was sick the after day on one of those occasions.
Still, it was self-contained to those two weeks in January. Since coming back, I'm back to being a moderate drinker. Stopping after one or two glasses of wine and I’m currently not drinking for the whole of March.
What went wrong in Taiwan?
I was going out a lot and drinking in very social situations. In Taiwan, a lot of the time, I was drinking whilst eating, but drinking a lot. There was a big variety in places and also in people I was drinking with. The main thing that went wrong was that I wasn’t saying ‘no’ to a drink. Another thing, I didn’t take a bottle of water with me, when I went out.
What I need to work on.
I definitely need to say ‘NO’ more often and perhaps have a rule to always start off with a soft drink.
In Europe, to get used to drinking 'non-alcoholic’ beer. One of the problems I have with this is that it’s usually the same price as ‘beer’. I need to get over this and see that a ‘non-alcoholic’ beer is a way of being with the ‘crowd’ and being healthy.
What I’m doing now.
Currently, I’m taking a month off from drinking for the whole of March. Whilst, I don’t think ‘abstaining’ helps much with being a moderate drinker, there is one thing that you must do in social situations and that is say ‘No’. Last weekend and this weekend, I get the chance to say ‘no’ to a drink.
I haven’t posted for more than three month but being a ‘moderate drinker’ has largely been successful.
Going Backwards
I went backwards a couple of times. I got drunk a couple of times over the Christmas period but in general I drank much less than I normally did at Christmas.
The biggest step backwards was in January, when I went to Taiwan for two weeks. I used to live in Taiwan and it was great catching up with everyone. Unfortunately, I drank like my old-self, perhaps with a tiny bit more restraint. I got really drunk a couple of times and I was sick the after day on one of those occasions.
Still, it was self-contained to those two weeks in January. Since coming back, I'm back to being a moderate drinker. Stopping after one or two glasses of wine and I’m currently not drinking for the whole of March.
What went wrong in Taiwan?
I was going out a lot and drinking in very social situations. In Taiwan, a lot of the time, I was drinking whilst eating, but drinking a lot. There was a big variety in places and also in people I was drinking with. The main thing that went wrong was that I wasn’t saying ‘no’ to a drink. Another thing, I didn’t take a bottle of water with me, when I went out.
What I need to work on.
I definitely need to say ‘NO’ more often and perhaps have a rule to always start off with a soft drink.
In Europe, to get used to drinking 'non-alcoholic’ beer. One of the problems I have with this is that it’s usually the same price as ‘beer’. I need to get over this and see that a ‘non-alcoholic’ beer is a way of being with the ‘crowd’ and being healthy.
What I’m doing now.
Currently, I’m taking a month off from drinking for the whole of March. Whilst, I don’t think ‘abstaining’ helps much with being a moderate drinker, there is one thing that you must do in social situations and that is say ‘No’. Last weekend and this weekend, I get the chance to say ‘no’ to a drink.
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