A new beer resolution

I recently made an important resolution in relation to my consumption of alcohol and I thought it was a subject that seemed prudent enough to share with readers of my blog. I also figured if I shared this resolution publicly, I would be more likely to stick to it and thought it might even inspire some of you to make similar resolutions.

I hereby resolve to only drink beer on the weekend.

Given that alcohol is, of course, an intoxicant and is best enjoyed with some degree of moderation, I feel like it’s important to set limits on my consumption of beer. Furthermore, reducing my beer intake is likely to help both my waistline and my budget.

I should note that for me, personally, I don’t really drink all that much beer on Sunday. And so typically, I tend to think of the weekend as beginning on Friday night, so when I say “I resolve to only drink beer on the weekend,” what I actually mean is that I’ll only drink beer Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. That first beer on a Friday night can be a really rewarding and satisfying way to kick off the weekend and I’m sure that, with a little self control, that beer will taste that much better given my new resolutions.

Also, since I don’t actually “go out” all that much any more on weekends, I’m also allowing myself some leeway for Thursday nights. I am fully resolved to make some changes to my drinking habits, and it’s fairly well documented that those who make realistic resolutions are much more likely to stick to them. Accordingly, in order to ensure the integrity of my endeavour, I have to be realistic and allow for the rare occasions that I do get to go out with friends, which typically involves grabbing a pint or two on a Thursday since most of my friends also have family obligations on the weekends. As important as making strong resolutions is, I believe strongly that people need to get out of their respective routines and socialize and, for me, Thursday night is the night of the week I most often tend to enjoy a beer with friends. So I’ve resolved to drink on Thursdays when appropriate as well.

Also, a small disclaimer I should probably mention: my softball league is about to start again for the summer. For the last four years we have ALWAYS stuck around for beers after our games. And so, while I am 100% committed to my resolution to cut back on my beer consumption through the week, we play our games on Wednesdays and sometimes on Tuesdays and I’ll probably drink on game days, too.

I mean, sure I don’t HAVE to drink after my baseball game, but the whole team does and I usually carpool. So it’s like, what? I’m going to stand around and wait for my ride home while everyone has a beer and I’m not going to have ONE beer after playing baseball? That’s bullshit, obviously. And so I also hereby resolve to drink at softball games.

And, you know, if Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are now in the mix, I may as well just include all weekdays. Like why have ONE weekday that I can’t drink? That’s kind of silly.

So let’s just say this: From now on, I hereby resolve to try to only drink beer after 5pm on weekdays as well as at any time on Saturdays and on Sundays.

We tend to forget that enjoying occasional beers can, for some people, turn into a problem, and so I am happy to put this resolution in writing, allowing for minor exceptions for those occasions where I am at a work lunch event and people are ordering beer.

All too often the excuses for an occasional beer can pile up and before you know it, drinking begins to spiral. I therefore strongly encourage all my readers to make a similar resolution to mine, which obviously won’t apply when I am on vacation or at a cottage, and simply pledge to drink a little less. I only hope I can lead by example, breaking my promise only in those instances when I am in proximity of someone else drinking beer at an early hour or on those occasions where ordering a beer seems like a good idea, because it is important to enjoy beer in moderation and to exercise some self control.

I took the above-featured picture from a seemingly-neglected flickr account here. I have asked permission, but didn’t get a response to my flickrmail at the time of posting. If it’s your picture and you want me to take it down, I will!