How a Break from Alcohol Redefined Fun, Identity, and Purpose w/ Jordan Carroll
Welcome to Journey to the Sunny Side, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. Jordan Carroll never hit a rock bottom, but alcohol was quietly holding him back. In this episode, the remote job coach and global entrepreneur opens up about life in the gray area where drinking wasn't a daily habit but still left damage he couldn't ignore. We talk about what led him to take a full year off alcohol and why he thinks everyone should, how quitting helped him confront deeper compulsions, and how he rebuilt his identity from the inside out. Jordan shares tools he used to break habits, reframe identity, and create a life built with clarity, creativity, and connection without ever pushing an all or nothing mindset.
Speaker 1:If you're questioning your relationship with alcohol or just ready to feel more like yourself, this episode offers insight, honesty, and a ton of practical takeaways.
Speaker 2:Hey, Jordan. Thanks for coming on today.
Speaker 3:Appreciate you having me.
Speaker 2:Alright. Well, everybody has a story. So let's start in the beginning with yours, especially when it comes to alcohol because I think everybody can relate. It's always unique. So, what was your relationship like with alcohol in your early 20s and what made you to start questioning it?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Let's see. Let's see how much I can remember from that time. So I I think it's actually started in high school, which I felt a bit outcasted and and not really part of, the cool the cool kids, I guess you could say. So when I was looking at at universities and college and and figuring out my next decisions around my life, one thing that became highly important to me was where could I go that I could party and kind of recreate my identity because I knew no one would know who I was in college.
Speaker 3:I didn't have to be the same person I was in high school. And I I chose a college that is notoriously known for partying in our state of California. It's called Chico State.
Speaker 2:So were you were you partying or not partying
Speaker 3:in high school? I was. Mostly marijuana. I I was a frequent user of marijuana, but I don't think I really got drunk until junior prom. I remember I I I drank on junior prom and may or may not have, like, stolen one of my best friend's dates that night.
Speaker 3:But then, like, it was such a weird experience to, to get drunk for the first time. I was like, oh, I kinda wanna do this more. And then I I would drink in high school, but it wasn't like I was I wasn't really going to parties or anything. So it was more sporadic, and and marijuana was really Mhmm. What I would use to escape at that time.
Speaker 3:So
Speaker 2:Yeah. Right on. Stoner.
Speaker 3:Total stoner, man. And then from there, it was like, chose the college in which I knew there was gonna be a lot of alcohol and partying and and things like that. So in the in even my late teens, I I actually went to college pretty early. I think I got to college when I was 17, because I had a late birthday. So it was super normal in my college experience to sneak alcohol into the dorms.
Speaker 3:I lived in like a nine story dorm. It was the tallest building North Of Sacramento in California. So it was like this massive building with all the all the girl all the college girls on one side, all the guys on the other side and just nine floors of that. Two of the floors were actually all women too. So, there was just this sense of anything goes and we would, you know, you're not allowed to drink in the dorms technically, but we would sneak in, you know, bottles and and all sorts of stuff to drink.
Speaker 3:I remember it was just very normal to, like, pass around this, like, handle of, Admiral Nelson. We couldn't even get it it might have been it seems like not even Sailor Jerry, not even Captain Morgan. It was like Admiral Nelson. It was like his plastic uncle.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Whatever is, like, bottom shelf at the at the Walgreens or whatever you can find.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And so we have to find someone to get it for us, then we get it. We sneak it in, and then we'd sit I remember we'd sit in my friend Chuck's room, and we just pass that thing around until it was gone. So, basically, it's, like, seven, eight shots per person before we even left the dorm. And then Yeah.
Speaker 3:That's when we go to the pregame, where we, like, go to a house and drink more. You drink out of the keg. You get beer, whatever. And then then at some point, maybe you go to a party and it's just, that was my life for probably, like, five years because I was in college for five years. So it was very heavy early you know, from from late teens to early twenties, like, three to five times a week just getting pretty drunk.
Speaker 3:And Yeah. Then that was normal. That was normal there. Like, we we Totally.
Speaker 2:I I have similar stories to that. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I guess when you think something's normal because no one's calling you out on it, you just do it, and it is what it is. But that was not normal. In fact, like, looking back on it. Like, you mean the rest of the world outside of that bubble doesn't do it? That's crazy.
Speaker 3:So that that kinda set the foundation of the the dependence and and kind of the the addiction around the escape itself and just the consumption of alcohol and just my relationship with alcohol being very skewed from that experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So what what leading out of that. So for me, it's almost like you went through the motions of that as being normal because you're still in adolescence, and no one really taught you otherwise. Right? And so for me, it wasn't until I started figuring things out into adulthood where I was like, maybe this isn't serving me so much or maybe this is causing more problems versus the good.
Speaker 2:Where was it for you where you started to have those inner inner thoughts?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. The tough part about the collegiate experience is I could still get good grades. I could still, you know, mostly manage a workload. You know?
Speaker 3:At one point, I was even working, like, three jobs at once, and I was still finding time to, like, just blackout. You know? It's just like that's, such a crazy concept to, like I can't think about that now. Like, if I were to drink and, like, blackout and then try to go to work the next day, I'm like, what how what does that even mean? So I think I had some resiliency at that point where I didn't have to think about it.
Speaker 3:And then as I got to, you know, kind of my mid mid twenties, late twenties, I started to enter I entered a corporate environment. And there would just be days in which I had drank the night before, and I was like, fortunately, I I worked remotely part of the time there, but I would just kinda, like, move my mouse around to, like, not you know, make sure that the screen didn't shut down so that they could see I'm online. Yeah. But I would just not do anything.
Speaker 2:Did you do the digital watch thing?
Speaker 3:So I I don't I didn't have to do that as much, but I would just kinda like be in my bed with my computer next to me. And at that time, this was when there really wasn't much Zoom or Google Meet or, you know, video conferencing. Was like Yeah. You dial in to, like, a massive conference call. And I was I was, like, in training, so I didn't have to say anything ever.
Speaker 3:I just was supposed to listen. So it is all about looking busy, you know, the presentation of busyness Yeah. And not actually being productive. And I could get away I could still get away with it, but I knew I was like, like, if I actually had to go into the office, which we did at sometimes, it was like, I can't, like, be like this. I can't do this.
Speaker 3:So I drink less for sure, but there'd just still be these these times where I'd go out, I think I could manage or control and moderate, but I just wouldn't be able to. And I'd wake up and be like, what the fuck happened? Yeah. How how did how did that happen? I was only having a couple drinks and then it turned into like this crazy night.
Speaker 3:And every time after that, I'd always like the shame would set in and I'd just be like, alright. Well, can I keep doing this? Like and so it would always be there in the present, but it took a few, like, really dark moments that like, really kinda, like, bottom rock bottom moments where I was just like, alright. Like, I just can't do this anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, I I know the feeling and definitely, I mean, the ongoing joke is, you know, come out for one beer, and that those tend to be the worst ones. So you like so we're gonna get into the story around, like, what the actual pivotal moment was for you and what that change looked like. But give us a fast forward, like, today, where you're living, you're working around the world, coaching, creating, leading. What does life look like for you right now?
Speaker 3:Yeah. At the moment, I live in Medellin, Colombia. I've lived in Latin America for about six years now between Mexico and and Colombia. And I would say, like, the main most important thing in my life is health, wellness, and just being a light as much as possible for other people as well as for myself, showing up really powerfully. I run a content marketing agency, and we help executives create all their content in like a one month, or in a for one month in a one hour podcast style interview.
Speaker 3:So that's, like, the main business that I run. And then here in Colombia, we do different social wellness events. So we have a run club that we do. We have, like, a sweat and chill party, which is like a sauna, ice bath, massage, exercise, like, morning Saturday morning party, which is, like, 300 plus people. We got one coming up this Saturday.
Speaker 3:So we're we're doing this in May, so it'll be, like, late May. We've got one coming up on, like, the May, which we're really excited about. And, just a whole lot more connection to God, connection to self, connection to, you know, just, like, life, like, just the enjoyment of life and the gratitude of life. It's just forever present. I do a lot of meditation and breath work, and that becomes a really central part of my connection to all those things.
Speaker 3:And, I can truly say, like, I'm just I'm happy most of the time. Obviously, emotions are come and go, but, I'm very, like I feel like I'm much more easygoing. There's a lot less stress in my life. I have a lot more confidence in myself. And I've been six six plus years alcohol free.
Speaker 3:So that's been probably the greatest decision of my life was to take that, to take that path and just say, you know, like this, this isn't serving me. This is a substance that I don't find any benefit from. I'm quite social without it. So even like the, the excuse of, like, needing it to be social, like, doesn't exist for me. So, I'm not interested in poisoning myself in that way anymore.
Speaker 3:Maybe in in other ways, but not in that way. Still love sugar. Still love food. Still love a good dessert every now and again. So that's that's nice.
Speaker 3:But
Speaker 2:Well, we still have to be human.
Speaker 3:Of course.
Speaker 2:And so much of what you say there, like, I identify not either through I just think it's cool, but also things that I've done and I'm sure that we'll link up afterwards. I know that we talked a little bit about the breath work and cold exposure that you've done. I've been doing that
Speaker 3:for ten
Speaker 2:years now and traveling, you know, has always been like the nomadic family. Now I'm a nomadic dad, I guess you'd say. So, like, those experiences are amazing and really can lead to a lot of growth. But what I actually wanna go back to those, all these amazing things that you did, and I'm gonna kinda throw you a softball here. But, first of all, would you think that those things would have played out had you not made this transitional decision, but also paint a picture.
Speaker 2:I'm sure you've thought about this. Have you ever thought about, like, what your life how it would have played out had you just gone the par?
Speaker 3:Yeah. There's a few circumstances that I could have seen. And and and I think future pacing is a very effective tool for a lot of this kind of stuff where, you know, at the time when I was still drinking, I also had a job that I didn't I didn't feel connected to, and I think that that can be part of it. It's like not, you know, being purposeless or being in a in a in a working environment where you're trying to escape that so that becomes, a symptom of why you may
Speaker 2:Yeah. Like, filling a void that that could also be described as boredom, which is a big driver for a lot
Speaker 3:of people. And that might was part of it. So there was a point in time where I realized I I didn't wanna be in that job anymore. And that was maybe one of the first big dominoes to fall was, like, making the decision to leave that position in that company and then doing stuff on my own, you know, starting my own businesses and start you know, freelancing. And then I worked for a company that was, a travel company that went all over the world, and that was, like, an awesome experience and got me exposed to the nomadic lifestyle, which travel, I think, has also taught me a ton, about myself, but also about the world.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, it could have gone in different directions if I would have stayed the course there, kind of stayed nine to five or stayed, like, in a position I didn't like and stayed in the place that I was living and could meet continued drinking. Like, I saw myself in some of my older colleagues. And it's not to throw any shade on them, but I just didn't wanna live their lives. And the way that they talked about their family or their life was just quite depressing. And I knew that that wasn't where I wanted to go.
Speaker 3:And then there's the other sobering reality of, like, I put myself in a lot of compromised positions when I drank and when I was abusing alcohol. There was a couple of near death experiences I had. There was a few times I went to jail. There's a few times I woke up in the hospital. So it you could make the case that if I hadn't stopped, that one of those times, any of those times, could have been the last, you know?
Speaker 3:And then there's there's not only the alcohol poisoning, but the, just the danger of, like, getting into situations where I don't know what decisions I'm making and what's happening and, it it didn't end well a lot in a lot of times. And I could have very easily I could have very easily died on multiple occasions.
Speaker 2:Yeah. No. I mean, def definitely the risk element. There's no doubt about that. And I think everybody that drinks even just quote unquote occasional drinkers or normal drinkers know the risks there.
Speaker 2:I mean, some people just decide to make a stupid move and go to their car. But you said something there that's, like, really interesting that I wanna drill in on for a second. And that is basically, you know, if you talk to somebody that has, like, gone completely sober or is abstinent, they'll say, well, the only real decision for me was, like, either, you know, kind of these 12 sub things where it's, I think it's death, insanity, and prison or something like that. Like, that that it's only gonna end up that way. But, like, for me, I didn't identify with that because that wouldn't have happened, but what you said there is, like, mediocrity.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Like, not living up to the best version of yourself, to your highest achieve achievable version, you know, and
Speaker 1:mediocrity, because it's not so painful, can just go on for Yep.
Speaker 2:Years, decades, an entire lifetime. And, you know, you've written about being kinda in that gray area or not not classified as AUD or alcoholic, but still experiencing real consequences where where I really felt that I was, which it really a challenge, and it is for a lot of people. More people are in that category than they would be in AUD. So but why do you think it's harder for people in the middle space to recognize, when they need to make a shift?
Speaker 3:I think it's always harder to make decisions when something's not on fire. And just in general, it could be your career. It's like, why leave this career when I'm still may I'm still getting this check every month. I'm still, able to do the job. Yeah, I don't see any growth.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's not fun. Yeah, I don't feel my purpose, but I gotta pay my bills. Right? And so there's a very real human element to this where mediocrity or the status quo and maintaining is essentially it allows us to kind of avoid some of the difficult decisions we know we need to make, we don't have to make. And yeah, for me, I noticed that every time I took a big lead where I was pursuing like a higher version of myself and my potential rather than staying in mediocrity, it always brought back so much more, ROI as far as like feeling the purpose, feeling fulfillment, feeling a greater sense of aliveness.
Speaker 3:But it, there is so much fear. So I think the fear keeps people in the, in that state. And I think the alcohol, at least for me, it was like, that was a comfortable way to stay there too. So I could kind of I could kinda drink to make the boringness more fun as as opposed to look for a way to make my life more fun and and just to be more engaged in what I was doing. And I think alcohol is, from the spiritual side, I think it it really, dulls you, and and it it brings down your frequency.
Speaker 3:So if you're looking to be connected to God or looking to be connected to other people and yourself, alcohol really in my in my mind only takes you away from and doesn't allow you to see clearly the decision that you really need to make. It allows you to, like, continue to punt that. Like, I'm just gonna punt that decision down the road. And then you may go through, like, an intense or extreme situation where you get fired or someone dies or something happens in your life that really forces the change. And it's understandable that in many circumstances that is what people need to, to, to make a movement.
Speaker 3:But I'd prefer at this stage of my life to be proactive in those types of decisions, not waiting for extreme moments. So
Speaker 2:Yeah. No. I'm a % with you, and I've experienced that myself. And, you know, it really got me thinking I've I've read a lot of books by doctor, doctor Wayne Dyer. I've also, like, David doctor Hawkins.
Speaker 2:And, like, this idea of you wanna avoid or limit the amount of low vibration substances that go into your body, things like sugar, things like junk food, fried food, tobacco, nicotine, and alcohol is in that. And I've I've certainly when I'm in was in a phase in my life where I was overdoing it, I didn't know what I was missing until it came back. Right? And then then you're in the morning and all of a sudden, your spirituality, your connection, and your, mind starts to give way to clarity. And it's it is quite powerful, you know, and what you're saying is like was the same as my experience.
Speaker 3:Yeah. The that kind of stuff is really just the intuition, the I mean, and and someone can be spiritual or not in order to kind of feel this, but there are those voices within us that speak reason and have an ability to come through when we have enough silence and when we have enough connection to ourselves. But the more that you rely on the substances to distract you, just distracting you from the seat of consciousness of like the all knowing of just what you know to be right. And so it can continue to put you in that position where yeah, staying in that comfortable place is is what you do.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. A %.
Speaker 1:So we talked a little
Speaker 2:bit about also metaphysical stuff, but, you know, you didn't just go and quit. You also leaned heavily on understanding habits and also psychology. So how did frameworks like the habit loop or six human needs help you to replace alcohol?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I I think I just observed that this was a massive behavioral change that there was gonna be some things that needed to, like, replace well, one, I wanted to just understand, like, why am I like this? Or, like, what is it I'm seeking? Like, what is it that I'm chasing?
Speaker 2:Man, that would, like, such the question I wanted to answer for myself because I just, you know, you probably were at the same place, depending on where you were when you wanted to change. But really, for me, the only visible option out in public was something like AA, which I didn't connect with. So then it was like, alright. I gotta go figure this out for myself because where do I fall and why is this happening?
Speaker 3:Yeah. And I was fortunate I got served ads by One Year No Beer, which is like a company that does some some of that. So I was able to sign up for their just their challenge. It was like a thirty day challenge, which was great. And it gave me at least, like, a time box of, like, let me try to figure some of this out.
Speaker 3:And in my exploration, I also had I had gone to, like, a a Tony Robbins seminar many years before, and it was UPW in 02/2017. So I went to that seminar, and and he had talked about the these these human needs. And I just realized that there's this yearn for variety and, like, exploration, and and it kinda is what led me to travel and led me to a lot of the the things that I do now. But at that time of my life, it was more about I was trying to find, like, this sense of adventure through alcohol and, like, unpredictability about what could happen if I'm drinking and going out. And, yeah.
Speaker 3:Like, that that definitely played a part, and then it was like, what are my triggers? Like, what are the things that are happening right before I'm grabbing a drink? And just just understanding, like, where could I replace certain pieces of that loop where the action that I'm taking because of the trigger gets me the results, but it's not drinking. And I I Yeah. Was a lot of times it was just human connection.
Speaker 3:It was human connection in some way or form and also connection with myself. And so that these days really looks like, you know, getting in the sauna, getting in the getting in the ice, getting a good workout in, Those types of things are really important to me now and I notice a lot of my psychological addiction has gone into those things, which is great because if you can get addicted to working out, that's that's probably a good thing. Right? Or at least it's a much better transmutation of that energy. So
Speaker 2:Yeah. Kai, I mean, I think you said something there that's, like, super powerful that maybe is obvious but a lot of times overlooked, and that is the the human connection. And I think that a lot of the driving factors, why it's difficult, especially people that don't fall into the the alcoholic category but still have trouble dialing it back, is realizing and looking at your behaviors. I can't avoid these parties or whatever, or I'd love to go out with my friends and have drinks. Well, do you really you need to sit down and think about, like, do you actually want the drinks?
Speaker 2:Is it about the drinks, is it about the human connection? And a lot of times, it'll be one or the other. Right? Like, some people will be like, well, I actually don't like going to the bar. So I'm not gonna miss it because I actually only went for the alcohol.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So if I take that away, not losing anything. But then also is the other thing is, like, it's actually not about the drink. It's about the human connection. So how can you have that human connection while still removing the piece that you know you wanna either dial back or get rid of altogether?
Speaker 3:Yeah. And that that requires a lot of conversations too with people. So there's people in my life that were my drinking buddies, you know, or, like, people that basically our entire relationship was formed off the back of, like, us going and drinking together. And, like, that's what we did. So there's, like, reframing conversations that I had I had at that time of, here's what I'm doing.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna be quitting. Here's how I can use your support. Here's some things that we could do together to maintain our connection, and I'd really appreciate. And, you know, you'll quickly find out who are your friends for alcohol or who are your friends for actually the human connection piece.
Speaker 2:A %. Those are still hard hard conversations to have. For sure. Like, if anybody was thinking about, like, you know, I wanna say it, but I just don't know if I wanna put myself out there like that or that not everybody, I think, has that built in ability to be so forward with with others and open. What advice would you give to somebody that's, like, on that fence?
Speaker 3:Gotta be okay with being a beginner because it just like anything else, those types of conversations are just a skill set. I don't think anybody's born with the ability to communicate like that. I mean, you come out of the womb not being able to say words. So, so at some point, you decide that the discomfort of learning this skill is more important and you give yourself compassion and grace as you learn it and use frameworks. There's a really good book called Crucial Conversations, which I basically use to model my entire conversation.
Speaker 3:Now you can just use ChatGPT to just say, hey, give me a conversation about this in the crucial conversations framework. And then and then it's not as if you're reading it verbatim, but, like, when you bring it to people, it's like you again, you gotta be okay with it being awkward. You gotta be okay with learning. You gotta be okay with being a beginner. But I guarantee you that this is a very high leverage skill to learn because if you continue to live your life afraid of confrontational conversations that have a lot of stakes or have a lot of emotion, then you're never gonna be who you need to be.
Speaker 2:I love that saying. You gotta be alright with being a beginner because well, first of all, it relieves a pressure, but it also realizes that when you stop over time be being a beginner and start moving in an intermediate or expert Mhmm. Whatever you're doing is gonna get easier with progression.
Speaker 3:It's a it's a feature, not a bug. Right? It's like it's like part of the process. Part of the process is you have to suck or you have to or you have to not be world class at least. You gotta, like you're probably not gonna be that great the first conversation you have.
Speaker 3:So I would start with the lower stakes conversations once first. Let's start with the ones where it's like, you're pretty sure this person has got your back no matter what. They're they're gonna allow you to be messy and be misunderstood and whatever. If you don't have that person, then, you know, you gotta start where you gotta start. But if you make the decision that this is your life path, then that needs to be more important than the attachment to potential friendships.
Speaker 2:Yeah. No. It'll definitely show you things. And yeah. If anybody's hesitant, another one another one of these sayings that has helped me, I'm gonna start adopting what you just said there.
Speaker 2:But a friend of mine many years ago told me, he's like, Mike, it's all just practice. However you wanna look at what that is, you know, it's like, it might be an important thing that you won't get to do again, but it's all practice for life life, the next thing. Like, there's so many levels to how you can take that, but I've always felt like that one was helpful.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think if you look at everything as a skill that is learned over time and over over practice, it's like pretty much anything you do. It's you're learning a new sport. You're learning a new skill at work. You're learning how to communicate.
Speaker 3:It's like none of these things are out of the box. They gotta you gotta have some sort of input.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. It's such a good way of looking at it. So if anybody's listening and they're just starting on this or they've been at it for a while, but they still keep maybe, you know, feel like they're going back to zero, but they're not. They're, like, they've moved forward in some fashion or another.
Speaker 2:Like, for me, like, you know, now or a couple years ago, I was racing mountain bikes. Did I start there? No. I was like, I was the guy on the cheap bike with the tennis shoes falling off the side of the trail. You know?
Speaker 2:But, eventually, I got there to where, but it took being a beginner. It took being humble. It took, like, getting back up, and I think that's a good lesson to take anywhere. So one thing I wanna get into with you is that, a lot of people listening not even listening. A lot of people, when they go on the road, when they travel, when they're living abroad, I find this difficult.
Speaker 2:I just was in Spain. You know, it's hard to stay on track because there's a lot of temptation. You're outside of normal schedules maybe. You know, there's a lot of ways that you can talk yourself out of sticking to commitments because, hey, you know, look where I am. How often will I be here?
Speaker 2:Oh, you know, everybody else is doing it. Like, how how have you navigated that? Because Columbia is not, you know, a pretty well known place for getting rowdy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think there's a difference between living somewhere long term and and doing, you know, kind of vacation travel. And, I just Yeah. The way that I look at basically everything within that is environment and just intentional environmental design. So if I'm going somewhere to travel for instance, there is some pre research that I'm doing about where I'm staying, how close is the closest gym, how is it that and I've been doing it for, you know, ten years now, so it's a little bit more it's a little easier for me now.
Speaker 3:I kinda take it for granted, but I'm like, okay. Where's the closest gym? Where's the closest grocery store? Can I find a meal prep company that will do all my meals for that week and order it in advance? Where who who what friends do I know there?
Speaker 3:What social activities are going on that keep me busy but having fun? What is it what is it my intention is for being there? If it's for work stuff, then, like, I'm just really conscious of having a space to work, having a whether that's co working, whether that's near a cafe, whether that's a desk in the in the place that I'm staying, like, I just look at the environmental design as the most important. So what I don't wanna be doing is when I get there, make decisions. I want I wanna reduce the amount of decisions that I'm making from a health and wellness perspective, and a scheduling perspective as much as possible.
Speaker 3:So, like, this past trip to Austin, I I was staying at a friend's house in a friend's apartment. He let me stay in his apartment. He had an amazing desk to work at. He had a basketball court and a gym inside his apartment complex. So I was pretty set there.
Speaker 3:He orders meal prep, so I just added an extra 10 meals to his order. He had all these supplements, like, so I basically was able to use that. He was right next to Whole Foods. So my first day, I went and got any supplementary groceries that I needed. And I was just, like, locked in.
Speaker 3:I had I have used ClassPass for gym for gyms when I'm traveling, and it allows me to book, at pretty much, like, dozens of gyms inside of a city. So just setting up the environment where decision making around that is very easy.
Speaker 2:You are very regimented. That's for sure. But, I mean, I I a % agree with that. Like and I and I talk about this at length. I've written it in my books.
Speaker 2:If you have a plan and we do this with Sunnyside, this is a big part of why Sunnyside works is that when you have a plan and you remove the need to take to make decisions when you're depleted, when you're exhausted, when you're maybe, like, emotionally drained or some situationally reacting, it it removes the the likelihood of making that poor choice.
Speaker 3:I think it's the main yeah. It's the main like, every it's it's from the James Clear thing. It was like you you it's something about willpower, but you you don't, rise to the level of your willpower. You fall to the level of your systems or something like that. It's it's just essentially like when you create the systems so that there's not huge decision making, there's already decision making fatigue.
Speaker 3:In our world, with the amount of decisions that we need to make day to day, it's insane. So just try to remove as much as that is possible. I do that here in the co living as well. Like, we have a house manager that comes and cuts up fruit in the beginning of the week for us. So there's just always fresh fruit in the fridge.
Speaker 3:We have, an ice bath and a sauna downstairs. So, like, at any point during my day, I could just go down there. I have another gym with another recovery center, eight minute walk away that I schedule in advance at the beginning of the week. So things like that where it's where you can do touch and go, like, can touch it once, make the decision once, and it's done. Like, now I just gotta go there or or do it in the moment.
Speaker 3:That that's good. And then I order a meal prep. So my meal prep gets here on, on Mondays or Tuesdays depending on when I order it. And then I've got meals for the rest of the week. I already know my other meals for the rest of the week too.
Speaker 3:I got a chicken delivery guy who delivers chicken, like, fresh cooked chicken by the kilo. And so I get four kilos, like, once a month. And that's, like, most of my my protein there. So
Speaker 2:I love it. So anybody listening, maybe it's not getting four kilos of chicken, but if they're it could be. It could be. If, but if it's not, you know, it could be anywhere from predesigning your your entire agenda to just removing as many of those decisions like planning excursions early in the morning because that prevents you from, that's already been chosen. And I think that planning these do your planning when you're at your highest self, and I've talked about this on some of my solo episodes and that.
Speaker 2:Do it when you're, like, feeling most connected, most optimistic, like, I'm gonna do this because then, when you're in your low mood, you'll say, nope, the real me is that I'm gonna default to what that was saying and I have I cannot allow this version of me to to make any big decisions because they've already been made.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I like that. I haven't heard of it, being put that way, but I think there's always a a higher version of you in there somewhere waiting to to be unblocked, and then we we have lots of reasons for blocking it. And some of it is purely nervous system, purely exhaustion, purely whatever it may be from a a human perspective, but kind of re re anchoring back into, I made this decision. I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 3:I know I'm gonna feel better for doing it. That that that's really what I
Speaker 2:try to
Speaker 3:think about as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It's not always easy, but it definitely sets you up for a higher success rate. And, I mean, it just even on a day to day, so many people have the same question on, how is it that I was one person this morning and I'm a different person this afternoon when it comes to, like, what my priorities are? You know? Like, I'm gonna get healthy.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna do all these things. I'm I'm going to stick to my plan tonight and then all of sudden, like, you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Let's get out. You know, you you can change like hour to hour and just part of that is just, it it's complex but it could it is also just down to things like decision. Fatigue is a big part of that. But so going into you did this this big change, which you probably didn't, you had a little bit of a plan, but it probably didn't unfold exactly the way it has in such a great way, but, you know, I I have seen that you've said everybody, even people that don't have necessarily issues with alcohol, But maybe you're questioning it, should take, like, some time to for an extended break. Why do you say that?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Again, it's like the clarity piece. It's the connection, the clarity, the, I mean, anyone who's maybe a regular or occasional drinker, even thirty days out of the year, just try it without any alcohol and see if it makes a difference on your energy, see if it makes a difference on, how you're feeling, how you're connecting with other people. And it might be surprising because there there may be some people who are like, thirty days without it, like, oh, I don't wanna do that. It's like, well, why?
Speaker 3:There's something to pull on too from the psychological perspective. Like, you may not think that you're dependent on alcohol, but if you can't take thirty days away from it, then there's something to explore there. And so it's there's this, you know, obviously a trend of, like, sober October or, you know, whatever. People do, like, a month off, and I think that that's a great place to, like, explore what alcohol brings to your life. And I'm sure for some people there are components of it they want to keep, and that is, is their truth.
Speaker 3:And that's totally awesome for them. For me, like the break allowed me to really evaluate and understand that there was not a benefit for me and that it was purely being used as a distraction mechanism and an escape mechanism. And if that becomes your answer, after that, you know, you go through that thirty days and you're like, oh, wow. I'm feeling so much more clear. I'm feeling so much more energized.
Speaker 3:My my bank balance is is higher. Like, there's a lot of things. You know? Maybe that's a sign to, like, go another month or what whatever it is. Like, I started with thirty days and then I went to ninety days as like my first two decisions.
Speaker 3:And then from there, it was like, I got to day like forty five and I was like, no, I'm just done.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I love that. And it it what you said there about it being what works for you, it's highly personal.
Speaker 2:And here on the podcast, we are not prescriptive. We're supportive on whatever that journey is, and we wanna give you the tools and the understanding and the strategies and the tactics to be able to support you to do these experiments, like, whether you wanna take an extended break, cut back, maybe do a combo of that where, like you, you know, you're like, you know what? I'm gonna take a break. You probably didn't say I'm done for the rest of my life, but at some point, something changed.
Speaker 1:And for some other people, it might
Speaker 2:go the other way. Like, I might say, you know what? I see where I wasn't doing it right. This this feels a little too extreme. I think I'll just go somewhere in the middle.
Speaker 2:And for those people, that's a great option too. That's still improvement. And, but it's all about doing what feels right for you and seeing the and then tracking and measuring if it actually is improving your
Speaker 3:I think some people just don't know what they don't know until they've tried it. Right? It's like it's like you may not think you need it and maybe you don't quote unquote need it, but what if you found out something about yourself in that month that just wouldn't have come through? What if you save that extra few hundred bucks of not spending it on alcohol? It's like, that can only be a good thing.
Speaker 3:What if you push yourself outside your comfort zone to go to the bar and not get a drink and just see, like, how you connect with the other people there and if that's possible. So, I mean, I think there's a lot of different options and yeah. There's obviously it's obviously good to have an intention behind it too of, like, what you're exploring, but I think it's also just like the intention is to go without alcohol for thirty days and see what comes up for me. It's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Like, what's thirty days? Right? Especially if it's been years and for most most decades. So, like, thirty days, like, it just didn't work or sixty days or nine.
Speaker 2:I personally, I I really like takings. I think the sweet spot for generally depending on how a person's personality and depth of of relationship, I think, like, ninety days is a really good, measure, but it's also a really a tall order for a lot of people to, like, take on at first even though it gets easier over time. But, yeah, like, take the break. See what happens. I I'm a big proponent of that.
Speaker 2:It's made, big big impacts on a lot of people's lives including yours. So if I'd I wanna wrap it up with, like, if you had a final reflection, like, what is one thing in your life that you could just like, if you didn't make this change, it just would have never happened for you. Like, where it may be mentally, spiritually. We we went through a lot of yours, but, like, if you had to answer that, you know, with a simple with a simple answer.
Speaker 3:Wouldn't know god. Mhmm. And that I was an atheist for twenty eight years. And and, you know, I don't judge anybody based on their their belief, their relationship with god, or or not having a relationship with god is up to them, but it wasn't possible for me with alcohol in the equation.
Speaker 2:Wow. That's amazing. And, yeah, it doesn't matter how anybody else's personal beliefs for for you, like, is what an ultimate thing to hear, you know, that you've experienced.
Speaker 3:Most important relationship in my life as well. So Yeah. It's crazy what alcohol held me back from and and what it disconnected me from. And, now seeing the other side of it, it's it's not even a question anymore.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Well, I think that's such a such a strong way to end this, today, Jordan. Jordan, if anybody wants to, like, learn more about what you're doing or any projects you wanna talk about, I wanna give you a little bit of time to, you know, share.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It can be found on social media. So Jordan Carroll on LinkedIn, JordansCarroll.com. 2 r's, 2 l's is my website. It's got all my my projects on there and the different things I'm doing, so it's probably the easiest ways through either of those means.
Speaker 2:Alright. Well, I love it. Thanks for taking the time. Thanks for sharing with everybody here, and, I hope you go and get nice and full of all that chicken you got sitting in there.
Speaker 3:Actually, the order the order comes later today, so I can't wait for it.
Speaker 1:This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform, having helped hundreds of thousands of people cut out more than 13,000,000 drinks since 2020. And in fact, an independent study showed that Sunnyside reduced alcohol consumption by an average of 30% in ninety days. And as one of our members shared, Sunnyside helps me stay mindful of my drinking habits. It's not super restrictive. So if I'm craving a glass of wine with dinner, I just track it and I move on with my week.
Speaker 1:If you could benefit from drinking a bit less and being more mindful of when and how much you drink, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial. You'll get access to everything that we offer, including tracking and planning tools, coaching from our experts, a vibrant community of people just like you, and the motivation and advice to stay on track with your health goals, all with no pressure to quit. That's sunnyside.co.
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