It's a bit ironic that I'm writing this post from a coffee shop and sipping on an iced soy chai as I type, but this moment of pure bliss is why I gave up coffee for the month of September.
Maybe it's the Catholic in me, but whenever I sense myself becoming too reliant on something, I like to challenge myself to give it up. For the month of September, this was buying coffee.
Yes, I spent an entire month not purchasing a single chai latte, regular latte, and even avoided the cult-classic pumpkin spice latte during it's launch in to the fall season.
The rules were simple. I could drink coffee or caffeine if it was from the office kitchen or it was tea I had already purchased. Otherwise, it was a no go.
Part of the challenge was realizing where I could cut back my expenses, but the main goal was to remind myself I do not NEED fancy coffee drinks. I was also seeking to balance my energy and emotional levels a bit and to hopefully appreciate my chai lattes and other coffee beverages more when I did have them.
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with coffee, except that it makes me shaky and spacey when I drink it too often, but I hate the feeling of "needing" something and also wasting quite a chunk of money on it.
I've never been a big coffee drinker, but over the past few years (aka my welcome-to-the-work-force years), I've begun turning more and more to coffee as a morning caffeine pick-me-up or a mid-day "I deserve this because my day isn't going well" treat.
Again, it's not like I'm turning to coffee for everything in my life or multiple times a day, but even the three or four times a week I would spend $5 on a latte started to seem a bit excessive.
The first few days were pretty rough, and all I wanted was a delicious chai latte from Bowtruss, but once I got going, I was reminded of how much I love my morning cup of mint or green tea and how much more calm I feel when I turn inward to get past a difficult part of the day rather than instantly running to the nearest coffee shop to spend $5 on a beverage. It's amazing how easy something becomes when we stay disciplined for those first few hours or days.
A few things that helped me make it through the month were:
- Knowing I was going home at the end of the month and could treat myself to a chai latte at one of my favorite coffee shops.
- Making a cup of tea each morning.
- Bringing sparking water for the afternoon if I needed a different beverage than straight water.
- Telling my coworkers and friends about what I was doing.
- Having a clear vision of why I was doing this.
- Reading the Discipline section of "The Road Less Traveled" by M. Scott Peck where he outlines the four techniques that make up discipline: delaying of gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing.
At the end of the month, I very happily enjoyed my first coffee drink, an iced hazelnut chai latte, from Espresso Royale. It was so delicious and gave me the perfect joy and energy boost before the morning tailgate and football game I was going to.
I have had a few more over the past week thanks to a late evening on the boy's birthday and writing this very post in the comfort of a coffee shop, but I am so glad I took the month off to re-evaluate when I turn to delicious caffeine beverages. Delaying the gratification of delicious chai lattes helped me balance and return to a dedication to truth rather than masking both happy and sad moments with a cup of deliciousness.
I know I'm a bit unique in my embrace of delaying gratification (my coworker even told me that I put myself through Lent every few weeks...yep, there's my Catholic showing), but I would urge you to take a moment to look at your life and acknowledge something superfluous that has maybe become too great a part of your life. This act isn't about living in a state of lack, but rather a delaying of gratification in order to look inward and find a greater truth or happiness. Even if it's just for a day or two, I encourage everyone to try out the act of giving something up for the greater good of yourself.
What will you give up to gain?
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