Episode 326 – playing forward and playing it present -- if I drink again,  why would I want to go down that path?   Erik took his last drink on March 9, 2019.  He is from upstate New York.   This is his journey of living alcohol free (AF).   This quarter’s Recovery Elevator donation went to “The Phoenix.”  thephoenix.org   Finding Your Better You – Odette’s weekly message.   Odette is training for a marathon.  She reached out to her fitness coach Paul from RecoveryFit1 to get some guidance on training, cross-training, etc.  She has noticed the training for the race is re-training her brain, rewriting her story and building her confidence.  Crossing the finish line of a marathon is scary for Odette.  During her childhood, she participated in the rally portion of the mini-Olympics.  She fell and as a result her team was in last place.  From then on, she told herself she was not a runner.    Odette recognizes we often get stuck in our stories because those stories are all we know.  We need to believe we can do things differently. She is using visualization techniques to overcome her old stories.   What stories are we telling ourselves about our alcohol-free journey?  Are those stories holding you back or keeping you stuck?  How can you re-write your story?   [8:53]  Odette introduces Erik   Erik took his last drink on March 9, 2019.  His journey includes ups, downs, and stability.  He grew up in upstate New York and lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida,  He is 42, single and living it up in the sunshine state.  Erik loves binge watching TV (COVID), meet-up.com, brunch, dinner, event planning, relaxing and baths.    [11:23] Tell us about your history with drinking?   Erik took his first drink at junior prom and found his dad’s secret stash of Manhattan’s.  He didn’t drink much until college.  He remembers the Bridge Street Run and he got completely wasted and was on camera when the local news covered the event.  His drinking progressed from there.  He moved to Los Angeles and in 2010 he got his first DUI.  He knew his drinking was a problem and he started looking at his drinking more closely.    His DUI stemmed from a party that included friends from college.  At 3 AM, he remembers driving home and avoiding someone on the side of the road.  He passed an accident and almost ran over the cops.  His recollection was foggy because he was so intoxicated.  He exited the freeway on Hollywood Blvd., was arrested and the cops took him back to the scene of the accident so he could see where he almost ran the cops over.    His friends came to pick him up and told him, ‘It’s ok, it happens to everyone’.    [17:55]  What happened after the DUI?   Eric looks at his drinking career through the lens of his DUI’s because he’s had three in ten years.  He went to AA after the first DUI.  He took one of the quizzes about problem drinking.  His gut knew he had a problem, but he ignored it and went along with his friends who said it was not a big deal.   He moved to Florida and picked up where he left off.  His 2nd DUI was in 2013.  He remembers going out, ripping his jeans from dancing and drove from West Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale.  He was driving 80 MPH in a 35 MPH zone.  He blew a .15 and went to court.    Five years later he got his third DUI.   [21:16] What was your drinking like between the DUI’s?   After the first DUI, it scratched the surface of concern, but he kept drinking.  Erik describes himself as a celebratory binge drinker.   He went to AA for four months without drinking and believed moderating would work for him.  He was able to moderate successfully until the shut off valve in his brain didn’t shut off.    In 2018, Erik got his third DUI.  He had a breathalyzer in his vehicle and was still positive (for alcohol) the next day.  Erik took a cab to work.  Erik never wants to be like that again.   [27:39]  What other elements of your life (at the time) could be attributed to alcohol?   Erik said from 2016-2018 he was a mess.  He was on ant