I didn’t realize I was a caffeine junkie until I had to get my blood drawn last month at 9:00 AM and couldn’t have coffee beforehand*. 

I was a wreck. I tried to rationalize that one cup … just one cup … wouldn’t throw off the results. I even asked Claude AI to back me up on this theory. It didn’t.

So I white-knuckled my morning. Before driving to the appointment, I made an Americano and put it in a Yeti cup—my reward waiting at 9:15.

During that drive, the shame hit hard. How did I let caffeine get such a grip on me?  Can an Americano in the morning, followed by two cups of coffee, turn you into an addict.  The answer is yes.  Totally.  That’s exactly what turns you into an addict.    

After the appointment, I knew I had to do something. I started the detox process over the holidays. Brain fog. Achy headaches. The works.

I felt so terrible that I figured I might as well take advantage of feeling crappy.  I eliminated all my vices at once. Out went added sugar and that celebratory, “Hey, girl, you did it – you hustled hard today” glass of wine at night, too.    

Those first ten days were something else. (Not a good something else.)

When I told my dad what I was doing, he said, “It’s a sad day in life when you wake up and have nothing to look forward to.”

Thanks, dad. He wasn’t wrong.

But here’s what I discovered: the things I thought I needed to perk me up were barriers to how I wanted to feel – energized. 

We – you, me – have big jobs.  We have a lot of people relying on us to deliver and be our best.  There’s a lot of delayed gratification in our work.  Vices help.  They give us comfort, moments of celebration, and – to my dad’s point – something to look forward to to ease the stress off of a challenging day.

I don’t know how long I will make the choose to be this strict with these boundaries, but I do feel compelled to report out that 12 days into it and I feel incredible – clearer, lighter, and more vibrant.  I have more energy and it feels exhilarating.

And here’s what I want to offer you.

What’s your barrier?  What’s limiting you from being your best?  What has a grip on you that you don’t want to admit, but could be limiting you?

And, hey, maybe beverages and treats aren’t your thing – what is? 

·  Doom scrolling on social media?

·  Revenge bedtime procrastination? (This is a thing, by the way – look it up.)

·  Ruminating on conversations that didn’t go your way?

We all have something that gets in the way of the better, more energized self we envision.  It’s easy to dismiss it and say it’s not a habit, but I challenge you to pour it into a Yeti cup (even if it’s metaphorical) and look at it. 

Uncomfortable truth is often followed by even more uncomfortable changes.  And uncomfortable change?  It could lead to that breakthrough you’re looking for.

*I just enrolled in Function Health and am blown away by how much useful data I’m getting to make strides in my overall wellness.  Overall, I’m pretty healthy.  But with Function Health?  I’m truly excited by changes I can make to slow down my biological age so I can live forever.  🙂