More Presence, a New Year Shift

What We Don’t Bring Into the New Year

A new year invites reflection and this year I am choosing to do it differently. I am choosing to focus on what I’m ready to leave behind. For those exploring sober curiosity, this season offers a powerful opportunity to pause, notice, and choose with intention.

Leave behind automatic habits. Release the idea that drinking is required to enjoy at celebrations, to relax after a long day, to be social with friends and family. Instead, create space to ask, Do I actually want this?

Leave behind social pressure disguised as normalcy. Just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s required. In the new year give yourself permission to choose differently without explanation.

Leave behind all-or-nothing thinking. Sober curiosity isn’t about labels or rules, it’s about exploration. Maybe social drinking feels right sometimes, maybe it doesn’t. This isn’t about making a concrete decision it’s about reflection and intention. Choosing actions aligned with your intentions, rather than giving in to social pressure, is at the heart of The Sober Project.

Leave behind shame around past choices. What matters is that we are learning now. Reflection replaces regret, and compassion guides change.

Leave behind the belief that sobriety means missing out. Instead, stay curious about what becomes available, clarity, presence, better rest, deeper connection, and a stronger relationship with ourselves.

The new year isn’t about restriction. It’s about freedom through awareness. We move forward not by forcing change, but by gently noticing what no longer serves us and choosing something new.