As I re-enter the world of business meetings, client dinners and the really exciting “networking socials” and I say that with heavy sarcasm. I’ve realized I need an arsenal of tricks to help keep me sober in what is always an atmosphere of heavy drinking and a peer pressure marathon.
Unfortunately I’m not just rolling these thoughts off my tongue. Each of these tricks came from real life instances where I found myself awkwardly explaining a topic that has come to define my life. I’ve withstood, but would have liked to have been ready to handle the situation. So if you are a recovering addict and stuck in one of these painful events, here are a few things NOT to do, along with a few tips to keep you in the safezone.
1. Walk around the event empty handed. – Just because you can’t drink alcohol doesn’t mean you can’t drink anything. When you walk in, go straight to the bar like everyone else, do this early before the belligerence begins. Pick up a club soda or a coke, put it in a glass and be on your way. This will help you avoid the most common question asked at these things, “Do you need something to drink?”
2. Be unprepared to respond to the inevitable question. – If you are anything like me and people once knew you as one of the guys who really enjoyed drinking; then people are going to ask you why you are not. The worst thing to do is sit there and stutter through a made up response. If you do, be ready for all those old party buddies to instantly transform into those jerks from junior high that peer pressured you into smoking pot out of some tin foil pipe in your parents basement. They will immediately start to harass you or announce to the group that you’ve found God, regardless it won’t be pretty. So be prepared. Plot your response and be ready to deliver, confidently. Take on the Boy Scouts motto and “Be Prepared.”
3. Stay out past 10. – Didn’t you listen to you parents? Nothing good ever happens a 10:00 p.m.. Well maybe they said midnight or after dark. But regardless the point here is accomplish your purpose for being at the event and then get the heck out of there. As much I would like to think that there is very little quality business getting done at these social events, there are times where networking with current and potential clients in large social gatherings can prove to be productive and worthwhile. However, once the clock strikes ten at these events, the majority of the bar will be emptied and the likelihood of drinks being forced down your throat by that one annoying, constantly hammered competitor will rapidly increases.
4. Don’t have an exit strategy. – Do you want to lose it all? Or be drug out to yet another bar? Then don’t have an exit strategy. But if you want to keep this wonderful gift of sobriety then know your surroundings, have a plan to get back to where you are staying and have a ride or a cab lined up. Most importantly don’t leave yourself stranded with only people who don’t really know your story. The more people know about you and about why you really can’t drink, the more likely you are to stay in safe situations.
Each one of these circumstances has happened to me. I have survived, but it wasn’t always easy. Now I know my plan. I have a strategy. I walk in with a Red Bull or water, do a full loop around the room, grab a plate full of h’orderves, enjoy them with a client, do another full loop, then I hit the door. Typically, I try to walk back just to feel my legs underneath me and to celebrate one more victory in my sobriety.
However, most importantly I confidently respond to all inquiries to drink with this, “ No, sorry I can’t I’m actually allergic. But thank you!”
Hope is Alive!
