With a long weekend ahead, we will spend some time as a family travelling into Estonia, which sounds fancy in some way, but really isn't if you are in Finland. It is a couple hours by ferry and Finns have been going there for many years, before they learned English and were comfortable travelling other places also. Many still go there for a couple days, most of them just to buy some cheaper alcohol.
There won't be much drinking for us.
Although I think I will enjoy a glass of wine or two with dinners, since I don't have to drive, nor do I have to wake up in the morning. My family have never been big drinkers and while I have had my fair share (especially when younger), it has never been a "thing" for me. I think it was because I started drinking so young.
I was 12.
At least when I was a kid, it was okay to drink at a restaurant for instance, if with a parent, so my mother would occasionally let me have a scotch and coke with dinner. While this sounds like terrible parenting, my parents didn't actually drink either, though occasionally my mother would have some white wine at a restaurant. What this ended up doing for me, was ensuring that I saw responsible drinking and it took all the special out of it. As a result, I don't think I have ever said "I was so drunk on the weekend" to my friends, like they did when we were fifteen.
The first time I was drunk, I was 16.
However, while this took the "special" out of drinking, when it came to treat food, that was always kept out of reach. It was very rare in our household, which I think is one of the reasons it took on a "special" status in my life, probably adding a few extra sweet teeth into my mouth. When there is a treat, eat it.
Especially with older brothers in the mix.
While I am no expert, in my limited experience, restriction doesn't work to actually restrict usage. Prohibition for instance was applied in Finland and alcohol distribution is very restricted still (it is a monopoly owned by the government), but instead of limiting usage, there are a lot of alcoholics. It is almost socially acceptable to be an alcoholic here. People are drinking a bit less now in the younger generations though, which is a good thing.
I remember hearing a phrase "what you deny, you empower" where the energy used to hold something back, effectively provides that same energy to that thing. This is why willpower usually fails most people, because it takes energy and when it is depleted, there is nothing left to hold the denial back any more and the flood gates open. This is also why so many people will give into their vices when they are tired.
I know I do.
If there was some kind of tracker, I wonder what it would look like to see a rundown of where our energy goes. It would be interesting to get a report on it and discover just where we spend our attention, and how much opportunity there is to do something else. There are trackers for phones that show screen time usage, and it seems that the people who will use them the least, are those who spend the most time on relatively useless activities, like scrolling social platforms. For most countries, the average usage is in the few hours a day on social media range.
Is it an addiction?
Just for a hypothetical, think about what someone might look like if they spent a couple hours a day in a gym. Or if you wanted to learn a new skill, how much you'd expect to improve if you dedicated a couple of hours a day to it for years on end. And this is the thing - it has been years now and for some people, they have grown up with a screen constantly in their face, making it appear normal that this is the way to spend time.
I spend a lot of time in front of a screen.
I should get away more and over the next few days, that is what I am going to do. Though, I am not going to be away completely, because I will still write an article daily for Hive, and likely edit some photos that I take of our travels. I am looking forward to being outside with the camera, though the weather is likely to be cold and rainy. Who knows, maybe there will b e some moody shots of the old town possible.
For now though, I have to finish up some work tasks and then pack.
I hate packing.
But I like being away.
If you had to spend an hour a day on a self-improvement activity, what would it be?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
I would say an activity to overcome procrastination sometimes I set out to do something as a sport and end up procrastinating with other activities. I would like to be more active, it's something I still struggle with. Sometimes in my free time I waste it watching soap operas or series and it's something that frustrates me.
View or trade
BEER.Hey @faniaviera, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @isnochys for you. Enjoy it!Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your
BEER.Nooooooo! :D
I have never got into the soap operas. I don't get the attraction though :)
Thank you for your witness vote!
Have a !BEER on me!
To Opt-Out of my witness beer program just comment STOP below
Wow Taraz. You have made me reflect deeply.
The use of social networks at some point should be limited if we want to grow as a society, although at this point I do not think it is possible because globalization prevents it and the benefits of entities that many call powerful.
This makes me think in the same way, in technology. It has made us a very lazy society even in the smallest aspects. While it is interesting that a robot sweeps your house, I don't find it so special that a ruler measures the dimensions of a square for you. Are they trying to put our brains to sleep? haha.
Well this is done under the premise of simplifying your life so you can spend more time with your family, but many of us spend a few hours on a social network.
I completely agree with what I just read. And I support you 100%.
On the other hand, I am a wine person, very occasional but if I have to drink something, that I am sure, it will be a wine.
On the other hand, I love reading and writing. It's what I do in my free time. And what motivates me to leave beautiful footprints in the world.
Yes! In the past we would innovate to make our lives easier so we could spend our time on more value-adding things. Now, we have got to the point we can no longer add value because we are too stupid.
Red or white?
I drink red - or if something harder, a gin tonic.
I LOVE red wine, old rock and a good read. Wine goes with just about everything.
It is an interesting read, I agree with what you write,
I would love to have an hour a day to myself!
I wish I could go to the gym, but I can't, this for me is a time when time is lacking, I have always worked out, all my life, until 4 years ago, and I miss it so much....
!LUV
!PIZZA
!COFFEE
Have you ever tried home workouts?
yes, I started when there was covid, I bought rubber bands, weights, mat, but I don't know and I can't understand why I can't be consistent when it comes to working out at home......
I work out one day, then a month goes by......boh, I don't have the consistency if it's my home, and I can't explain it myself.
thank you for your advice, you were kind
!LUV
!COFFE
!PIZZA
tarazkp, li-lou sent you LUV. 🙂 (1/3) tools | trade | connect | wiki | daily
Made with LUV by crrdlx.
Taking a genuine interest in my mental calmness is the best way to find my equanimity necessary to act correctly.
Without a doubt, what makes us feel is carved in us like carved in stone...Mr. Taraz.☕
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@li-lou(1/5) tipped @tarazkp (x2)
I guess if you have had enough of something previously, it has a lot way of making you get tired of it and you won’t even want to have a taste when you later see it. I guess that is what is happening to you with alcohol
At the same time, it looks like you didn’t have a good experience with alcohol starting from how you got drunk at the age of sixteen and I think you would not want to be in that position again
I would probably spend it doing mindfulness. I've started several times but do not keep the habit although It has always been great practicing meditation.
I think it is not okay to start drink at that age unless under parant's control. I want everybody a social drinker, not become a alcohol-addicted :)
An excellent reflection. I can draw a small parallel with my experience with tobacco. As I was always told it was bad for my health, I think puberty always brings something stupid and not very evolutionarily intelligent, but that's part of it, isn't it?
With regard to alcohol, I think my first drink must have been around the age of 17... at the time, it was at a café-concert that we organized to raise funds to set up a group of young people with the capacity to throw parties, attract more and more people, and hire musical groups. I was at the entrance, and I was one of the people responsible for collecting the money and exchanging it for tickets, which would then be used to buy the drinks and food. Of course, it goes without saying that many of my friends offered me tickets.... and at the end of the night, they were exchanged for drinks that I wouldn't even dare to drink today: Golden Strike, Pissang Ambom, and other sweet liquors.
I can say that my qause daily one-hour addiction might be my workout at the gym. Although I can't go every day, I go at least five times a week!
Make the most of your vacation days in Estonia to relax... It feels really good!
I think I am a bit similar. My uncle let me taste beer (cheap ones too) when I was younger, and it just tasted bitter to me. I like to consider that the reason for my lack of enthusiasm with alcohol. I will have them during social drinking, but I usually don't drink any alcohol at all. Have fun on your vacation!
Definitely to write and do healthy exercises, in that I would spend my time and at the same time more time, the first for pleasure and the second for health.
These times of social networks I can say that in the same proportion that they have been good they have been terrible...for example to dedicate more hours than normal affects, affects your personal relationships, your family and yourself, to the extent that I move away from them I have realized that this has motivated me to realize that my partner is very addicted to them, and that only makes him alienated from reality.
Are we developing a mental state similar to autism?
I didn't know that in Finland there were bans on alcohol, maybe alcoholism is related to the climate?
Please have a good, healthy and liberating trip.
No, we had dessert after pretty much every meal when I was a kid, so it should have made it not special but it still is for me. I just have a tremendous sweet tooth. I didn't start drinking until I was 24 and spent the rest of my 20's catching up from what I missed.
This is what a fancy guy would say.
"You've spent 10 hours this week discussing, 'What do you want to eat?' with your wife"
Enjoy your time man!
Hi @tarazkp that's a very in depth experience you shared. I am amazed at alcohol at tender age, but yes as you said it takes out the unwanted excitement around it.
Great publications.
Sometimes I ask my self too if using social media or smartphone it's an addiction I noticed that I spent too much time on social media instead of reading or talking with people as I did before the smartphone appeared in my life.
I think I should also learn to procrastinate procrastinating. Instead of pushing aside what I want to do, let me push aside that thing that wants to stop what I want to do.