You are listening to the Take a Break podcast with Rachel Hart episode 199.

Whether you want to drink less or stop drinking, this podcast will help you change the habit

from the inside out. We're challenging conventional wisdom about why people drink,

and why it can be hard to resist temptation. No labels, no judgment, just practical tools to

take control of your desire and stop worrying about your drinking. Now, here's your host,

Rachel Hart.

Well, hello, everyone. I'm going to tell you something. Today's episode is coming out on my birthday,

and I am turning 40. I have talked about this on the podcast before, but when I was struggling in

my 20s with my drinking and really struggling with a lot of things in life, let's be honest,

my friend Suzie and I, we would joke that when it came to life, surely we would have things figured

out by the time we were 30. I can even tell you how many times I remember the two of us

talking about this. Things will just be better when we're 30, right? We'll have it all figured out.

And then, of course, you can guess what happened. That did not happen. That was not the case. I

remember when I was 29 and my 30th birthday was looming. I thought to myself, oh my God, I don't

have anything figured out and I'm about to turn 30. I'm still a mess. I'm still drinking too much.

I'm still in this love-hate relationship with alcohol. I'm still chasing approval and I never

feel like I measure up what the heck. Now, here I am about to turn 40 and I really realized the

error of my thinking back then because the error in my thinking was that time was the solution.

We are led to believe this. Just think about how many times you hear someone say, oh, just give it

time. Time heals all wounds. Things will get better with time. We're constantly fed this idea that

time is the solution. So I was rightfully so believing that I just had to rely on the passage of time

and then I would finally figure things out. And I see this with people in my 30-day challenge. I see

...