Oh man, this post is overdue!  I completed this challenge almost a year ago.  I am just going to tell you upfront: It was one of the best things I have ever done.

Beyond the physical benefits I described in my previous post, including better sleep, better skin, better belly,  feeling better, etc., I finally did something for myself that I never found the courage to do before- I enrolled in and completed a Yoga Teacher Training Program.  Since then, I have taught well over a hundred yoga classes and LOVE it!  It’s truly a dream come true.  I think that’s the biggest difference doing this no alcohol challenge made for me- instead of just dreaming, I started doing.  I also had the energy needed to keep going the whole time.

What’s the answer to the burning question- did I keep going with the challenge after the six months?  I did not.  A few weeks after the challenge ended, I had a cocktail at my parents’ anniversary party.  I also drink wine weekly. I am a lot more mindful now about drinking it these days. I am aware that when I have it- even one glass- I am not at my best the next day.  So, why have it then?  Well, it’s something I enjoy, not unlike a lovely dessert.  While I know that a good chocolate chip is not the healthiest choice either, I don’t want to abstain from them for the rest of my life.  As long as I don’t overindulge in wine (or cookies) then I am comfortable with enjoying them responsibly.

I have to admit though, I am curious what it might be like to do a No Alcohol Challenge for a whole year.  So, there may be a post about that in the future.

When I told a friend of mine that I would not be watching TV in January, her response was, “you picked one of the longest, coldest, darkest months of the year to go without television???”

I had to admit when she put it that way I was a little nervous I might not get through the whole month but I did with one exception.  I found out that my favorite vintage TV show was back on the air.  So, I allowed myself one hour a week.  I still call that a success.

So, what happened when I stopped watching TV?  For starters, I read more.  I finished four books, started two more and listened to a lengthy audiobook.  I was very pleased as reading again was one of my goals when I started this little experiment.

Another aspiration was to sleep more.  The first night I did but then it got more challenging again.  My insomnia not only thundered back, it brought a friend- an ear worm named Mr Jones.  During the first week, I heard the catchy Counting Crows song and it stayed with me for the rest of the month.  Every quiet moment and especially between 1AM and 4AM that song plagued me.  It felt like I would never get it out of my head.  (The antidote turned out to be Everybody Have Fun Tonight (Everybody Wang Chung Tonight)  Who would have guessed that?)

My suspicion is that without the distraction TV normally provides my brain, my “monkey mind” (as meditators like to call it) was going into overdrive to deal with the change.  Our brains don’t like change and we are hard-wired to resist it.  It’s a well-intentioned effort by our brains to keep us safe.  Familiarity is good.  Change is scary to our brains because we don’t know what is going to happen.  Even something seemingly insignificant like not watching television can have an impact if it is departure from the norm.

My brain may have been on to something because without the mind-numbing diversion of television, I started to become very aware of how tired I have been for a very long time.  Chronic Fatigue is not a new thing for me but I have learned a lot over the decades on how to deal with it.  I realized during this challenge that I had stopped doing things that helped and started doing things that didn’t.  One example is my diet had become less than stellar.

I have remained a vegetarian for over 20 years and dairy-free for over 10 but I had started eating eggs again a little over a year ago.  Worse than that, I was relying too often on processed foods like dairy-free cheese, margarine, bread and pasta.  Of course, I had become used to eating these things in front of the TV to boot.  Now, I am preparing food mostly from scratch again and including lots of fruit, salads, veggies, nuts and seeds.  Eggs are off the menu again.  I am starting to feel better and… (drum roll) SLEEP BETTER!

I have one caveat to share before I wrap this post up.  I noticed that when I stopped watching TV that my internet time increased.  I was watching a lot of Youtube videos. Youtube is a good resource when you want to learn about something you are thinking about trying.  I realized though that I was swapping one screen for another.  I didn’t need to watch 20 videos on how to make Kombucha.  One or two would have sufficed.  Not to mention- I received The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz for Christmas.

Going TV-free for January turned out to be a really worthwhile challenge.  I am making changes as a result that are having a positive impact on my life. So, I decided to keep going to see what other improvements can be made.  What do you think would improve your life if you stopped doing it?

My tire pressure light had been coming on and then going out for over a year.  I mentioned it to my mechanic whenever I got an oil change or inspection, then he would check the pressure and send me on my way.

So, when I was driving home recently and it came on, I wasn’t surprised.  However, this time it was accompanied by a familiar thwop thwop thwop noise.  I had a flat and started praying I made it to somewhere that I could safely pull over before it completely deflated. I made it to a gas station and called Triple A.

The phone attendant was very nice but my heart dropped a little when she said it would take 40 minutes to an hour for someone to get to me.  I busied myself with getting all the crap out that I had stored in the hatchback.  I had barely finished when a van pulled up next to me.  It had been less than 10 minutes but sure enough, my help had arrived!  Matt had the donut on and my deflated tire in the back in what seemed like no time at all.

I asked him if I could drive on the donut long enough to pick up ICE MELT on my way home.  He smiled and explained that the donut is a 50/50 tire.  “As long as you don’t drive over 50 miles an hour or for more than 50 miles, you will be fine.”  I thanked him and we were both on our perspective ways.

While I was on my way to the Big Box store to get the ICE MELT, I noticed that the bay was open at MAAVIS tire.  It was almost 6PM and I figured they must be on the verge of closing.  It was worth a try though because I had an early meeting at work the next morning.   I went into the office, prepared to beg for mercy.  No groveling was necessary, however, as it turned out to be their late night.  What are the chances of getting a flat on MAAVIS’ late night? The guys let me leave the tire there while I went to pick up the ICE MELT.  Shortly after I returned, my tire was patched and I was on my way.

I actually made it home in time to stop at the library before it closed and return an overdue book. I raced in literally as they were about to lock the door.  The woman at the circulation desk said she couldn’t take it because she already shut the machine off. Then another woman at the children’s desk said she could sign it in for me.

Getting a flat tire is not exactly fun but I felt such gratitude for everything that transpired afterward.  I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome under the circumstances.  It was almost magical.