Ep 174: Redefining Your Life After Alcohol with Gayle Macdonald

Jun 1

Beautiful, we ditch alcohol for a reason - to step into a deeper calling and our deeper purpose. When you cultivate that newfound confidence and new ideas and passions are swirling, that's a ripe time to take advantage of.

Gayle Macdonald is a transformational coach who drank daily for 15 years. After moving to Spain, alcohol became a part of her lifestyle as she learned a new language and frequently met up with friends for tapas. Throughout today’s episode, Gayle walks Karolina through her inspiring journey to becoming alcohol-free and now teaching others to do the same, which required listening to her intuition and slowing down to reconnect with herself.

It's so incredible to hear how she redefined her life and career and rebuilt her trust and confidence from the ground up. Enjoy!

IN THIS EPISODE:

How intense shame and constant guilt led Gayle to make a choice to not drink for 6 months (and what triggered her to finally stop for good)
The mantra that gave Gayle so much freedom and headspace to trust her decision to become alcohol-free
Gayle shares how she rebuilt her confidence and self-esteem and learned to recognize that she is worthy of her desires, needs, and wants
The epiphany Gayle had that inspired her to combine her teaching background with coaching - she now supports others on their alcohol-free journey
There are many ways to get on the path to recovery - there’s not one “secret”, though once you become alcohol-free, it feels like an incredible secret you’ve discovered!
The advice (and permission) Gayle would give to her younger self when she was in the thick of drinking

REFLECTION QUESTION:

Gayle shares in today’s episode how she gave herself a mantra that helped free her mind and clear out the indecision and temptation she was feeling around drinking.

Take a few minutes to create your own mantra. What can you tell yourself every day to keep you on this path? For example, Gayle’s mantra was, “I’m not drinking no matter what.”

Once you have your mantra, write it on a post-it note and stick it on your bathroom mirror or your fridge. Allow it to be a beautiful reminder.

“I gave myself a mantra, which was ‘I'm not drinking no matter what.’ And that freed up a lot of headspace. Because often it is the decision making and the thinking about it, that is just so exhausting. So that mantra laid it out! For me, it was quite clear that no matter what happened, whether it was Friday night, or Monday afternoon or something good, or something bad, then I just wasn't drinking.” - Gayle Macdonald

“The thing that I've worked on the most is trusting myself, again, caring for myself, acknowledging that I am a person and I do have needs and those needs do deserve to be met - and not feeling guilty. If I want to have some alone time or go and cry or do something for me, that's probably the biggest thing - is recognizing that. I'm worthy of my desires and needs and wants and it's okay to ask for help. It's okay to express how I feel. And when you're not drinking, then your confidence does increase.” - Gayle Macdonald

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Connect with Gayle on her website, Sober Bliss.

It’s not too late to join Karolina’s free LIVE workshop series, Ditch Alcohol and Discover Your Purpose. Now that you’ve re-evaluated the role of alcohol, learn how to ask yourself what you really want most in life and how to go after it! Enroll in the workshop here and get your free workbook!

Karolina’s book is available in hardcover, Kindle, and as an audiobook. Be sure to get your copy of Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You today and leave your review.

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