Blog Post
HOW TO CULTIVATE AN EXECUTIVE ATHLETES PHILOSOPHY TOWARD ALCOHOL
- By Jonathan Cawte
- •
- 16 Jun, 2017
Alcohol has powerful social connotations. The type of alcohol speaks in powerful ways about the nature of the moment. Severing our attachment to alcohol is difficult because it has become a way to convey a human emotion. Here you will discover how to navigate the use of alcohol like an Executive Athlete.
Imagine celebrating a significant achievement with a bottle of soda water rather than the customary champagne? How would the experience be different?
You are missing the theatre of the pop of the cork as you open the bottle, the good cheer that is conveyed when you clink your champagne flutes together, and the feeling of luxury as you enjoy the flavour of great champagne.
There is also the social language that comes with sharing a bottle of champagne after an achievement. The executive who buys the champagne and shares it with a partner or team is saying, “Thank you, we did this together. You are important to me.”
To celebrate the same milestone with another beverage may send a very different message. It could be interpreted as: “This wasn’t significant”, “Let’s get back to work” or even “You are not worthy”.
There is no doubt you will use the emotive power of alcohol in your professional life. The question is — how?
FORGET ITS HEALTH BENEFITS
Just to make one thing clear. Alcohol is like cigarettes; each drink is doing you harm. Forget the research into the benefits of drinking. It has never concluded that drink X causes benefit Y. It simply says people that drunk X seem to be correlated with benefit Y. This type of research never proves anything.
In terms of weight loss alcohol is evil. It makes you crave foods you don’t normally eat and then distracts your brain from knowing when you are full.
IT’S ABOUT TRADE-OFFS
Success requires sacrifice. The decisions that you have made on the path to success come with a trade-off. When it comes to alcohol what are you willing to trade? It’s binary, yes or no:
YES to weight loss, means NO to a few drinks at the bar
YES to Friday after work drinks, means NO to Saturday morning workouts
YES to City 2 Surf, means Noto the second round the night before training
YES to better sleep, means NO to opening a bottle of wine after dinner
YES to minimal alcohol, means NO to the stress relief of a bottle of wine
USE ALCOHOL IF IT GENUINELY ADDS VALUE TO YOUR LIFE
This is the most crucial question. The way to navigate the trade-offs that come with alcohol is to respect the answer to the question above.
If alcohol truly adds value to your life, enhances the joy that you share with a friend or deepens your emotional bond, then go for it. Alcohol is fun. There is so much pleasure that can be derived from sharing a drink with those you lead and those you love.
The problem on comes when alcohol is what keeps executives from achieving their dreams. When your blood alcohol content is going up, alcohol is a stimulant, in that moment you are fearless.
When your blood alcohol content is falling, alcohol is a depressant, in that moment you are likely to be inappropriate and have poor judgment.The day after, alcohol can slow your thinking, rob you of energy and interfere with your self-confidence.
Your own alcohol philosophy will be determined by the net result — does alcohol bring you value?
An Executive Athlete doesn’t use alcohol as a habit, primary method for stress relief or lets themselves succumb to peer pressure. They use alcohol only if it enhances the quality of their life.
Imagine celebrating a significant achievement with a bottle of soda water rather than the customary champagne? How would the experience be different?
You are missing the theatre of the pop of the cork as you open the bottle, the good cheer that is conveyed when you clink your champagne flutes together, and the feeling of luxury as you enjoy the flavour of great champagne.
There is also the social language that comes with sharing a bottle of champagne after an achievement. The executive who buys the champagne and shares it with a partner or team is saying, “Thank you, we did this together. You are important to me.”
To celebrate the same milestone with another beverage may send a very different message. It could be interpreted as: “This wasn’t significant”, “Let’s get back to work” or even “You are not worthy”.
There is no doubt you will use the emotive power of alcohol in your professional life. The question is — how?
FORGET ITS HEALTH BENEFITS
Just to make one thing clear. Alcohol is like cigarettes; each drink is doing you harm. Forget the research into the benefits of drinking. It has never concluded that drink X causes benefit Y. It simply says people that drunk X seem to be correlated with benefit Y. This type of research never proves anything.
In terms of weight loss alcohol is evil. It makes you crave foods you don’t normally eat and then distracts your brain from knowing when you are full.
IT’S ABOUT TRADE-OFFS
Success requires sacrifice. The decisions that you have made on the path to success come with a trade-off. When it comes to alcohol what are you willing to trade? It’s binary, yes or no:
YES to weight loss, means NO to a few drinks at the bar
YES to Friday after work drinks, means NO to Saturday morning workouts
YES to City 2 Surf, means Noto the second round the night before training
YES to better sleep, means NO to opening a bottle of wine after dinner
YES to minimal alcohol, means NO to the stress relief of a bottle of wine
USE ALCOHOL IF IT GENUINELY ADDS VALUE TO YOUR LIFE
This is the most crucial question. The way to navigate the trade-offs that come with alcohol is to respect the answer to the question above.
If alcohol truly adds value to your life, enhances the joy that you share with a friend or deepens your emotional bond, then go for it. Alcohol is fun. There is so much pleasure that can be derived from sharing a drink with those you lead and those you love.
The problem on comes when alcohol is what keeps executives from achieving their dreams. When your blood alcohol content is going up, alcohol is a stimulant, in that moment you are fearless.
When your blood alcohol content is falling, alcohol is a depressant, in that moment you are likely to be inappropriate and have poor judgment.The day after, alcohol can slow your thinking, rob you of energy and interfere with your self-confidence.
Your own alcohol philosophy will be determined by the net result — does alcohol bring you value?
An Executive Athlete doesn’t use alcohol as a habit, primary method for stress relief or lets themselves succumb to peer pressure. They use alcohol only if it enhances the quality of their life.
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Jonathan Cawte
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