Do You Drink To Be One Of The Crowd?
For a lot years, I drank beer because
the crowd I was with did it. The thing
is, I didn’t really like the taste. I
did it to fit in. I had this feeling that
I would be judged if I chose not to have it.
I used to work in a very competitive environment. There was almost a “badge of honor” if someone
could drink a lot. Abuse of alcohol was
pretty common. Alcohol was prominent in
just about every social event. We took
it to excess. It got to at times we
would use beer pitchers as our mix drink sizes.
Needless to say, that that led to less than great social behavior.
I would have to say the worst example
of our abuse of alcohol came at a formal function we had each year. This one particular group I worked with would
bring a bowl of goldfish and tequila to the event. We would then spend the evening putting a
goldfish into a shot of tequila and drinking it. You got “bonus points” if you chewed it
before swallowing.
For myself, it came to a point where
I know I had to stop or I was going to either hurt myself or someone else. So, I just quit drinking alcohol cold
turkey. You know what, no one said
anything negative at all. It took about
6 months for them to come to the realization that I was serious. In fact, most said “great we have a designated
driver.”
It taught me an important lesson. Just because a certain activity is considered
part of being in the organization, it did not mean it was mandatory to do to be
“part of the crowd.”
I went a few years with no
alcohol. Today, I may have a drink or
two a couple of times a year, but that’s it.
I have it when I want and not when the crowd I am with is doing it. And yes, that drink is not beer. Still don’t like the taste.
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