Are you choosing to live a happy, fulfilled life?
That’s right, studies have proven that ninety percent of the factors that make the difference between a happy life and an unhappy life are factors within your control. One life hack proven to help unlock your best life is setting, pursuing, and achieving goals.
Yes, you can choose a happy life, but don’t take my word for it! Here’s an example of how other people – people just like you – are choosing to achieve happiness through their goals.
Amuse-Bouche Before we jump into today's post, I offer you this "dad joke" as a light "amuse-bouche" to entertain your mind before we get serious. Like any other amuse-bouche, you may hate it, but it is worth every penny you paid for it, right? I asked the cashier "Could you give me small change instead of large bills? I need money for the bus." She said, "That's Fare."
Sarah’s Powerful Story of Achieving Her Goal To Overcome Addiction (Interview)
Welcome to this week’s Interview with a Goal-Crusher. In these interviews, I sit down with someone accomplishing big things by setting and achieving their goals to learn their secrets. Then I share those secrets with you. It’s like free mentoring from someone already on the road to success. Who doesn’t want that?!
Over the last nine months, I have shared numerous stories of people who have used goals to change their lives. While every one of these goals was unique and meaningful to the goal-crusher, today’s story is an entirely new level of a life-changing (possibly life-saving) goal.
A few years ago, I stumbled onto the Instagram profile of another local Columbus runner who lived a few streets away and was a friend of a friend. Since we were both runners, she seemed like a great person to follow for inspiration and to cheer her on her runs.
I spent the next couple of years watching Sarah’s journey as a runner, running races to raise money for charity. Her journey was so impressive and inspirational!
As inspirational as Sarah’s public journey was, there was something I didn’t know. I had no idea she was struggling with a private battle with addiction. When she started publicly sharing her sobriety goal and journey, her already impressive story became off-the-charts inspirational.
I couldn’t be happier or more humbled to share Sarah’s story with you today!
Please introduce yourself and tell Operation Melt readers what you do.
Hi everyone! I’m Sarah Seither, and I live in Pickerington, Ohio, with my wife and two pit bull rescues, Lucy and Walter.
By day, I’m a Senior Supervisor at a healthcare company managing a team of front-line employees. By night, I’m a runner who uses my running to support local causes that are important to me. For example, I participate in The Columbus Marathon every year, starting in 2014, and became a Children’s Champions fundraiser to raise money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. My mom was a NICU nurse before she passed away, and I run and fundraise in her memory every year.
Since 2014, I’ve raised $60,130 for the NICU.
What motivated you to choose to give up alcohol? What was your vision? Can you share some/all of your story?
When my mom passed away in 2005, my world fell apart, and I turned to heavy drug use and drinking to cope with the loss. I overcame drug addiction in 2006 but never admitted I had a drinking problem, so I allowed myself to continue drinking. It was cool, socially acceptable and expected with my friend circles.
Drinking is one of the only drugs out there that people EXPECT you to consume. And when you don’t, they look at you funny.
I actually tried and failed several times to get sober, mostly because I wasn’t ready to give it up, and I always tried in a passive way. I did it in a way that prevented any accountability from friends and family so that no one knew when I failed and started drinking again, and I “got away” with it. Even though I was only hurting myself, really.
In 2018, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I increased my alcohol consumption to cope with getting through treatments. I was also experiencing a relatively stressful work situation, increasing my “need” for drinks. 2018 to early 2020 were very heavy drinking years, and I ultimately resigned from my job because I couldn’t handle life anymore.
I started up at a new company just a couple months before the pandemic hit in 2020, and again, drinking continued. It wasn’t until June 2020 that I noticed how my drinking habits were completely similar to my drug use habits.
I woke up thinking of drinking.
I started drinking early every day.
The longest stretch I’d go without a drink was maybe 4 days, and I’d be so proud of myself that I’d binge to celebrate.
I “needed” alcohol to get through every day, whether it was good or bad, and I didn’t feel well. I had stomach issues and heart palpitations, and several times at night, my wife thought I had stopped breathing, so she’d check to make sure I was alive.
After drinking 6 beers, I’d sip out of open wine bottles before heading to bed just to get one last hit before bed. I was sick, and I was finally sick of it.
I had my “ah-ha,” rock bottom moment where I knew something had to change, or I was going to drink myself to death. And my wife didn’t bravely battle breast cancer for me to do something so stupid, so I looked up a few different resources for getting sober and made it my mission to get my life and health completely together.
I then had the opportunity to return to the company I had originally resigned from, as a position opened up in a different area. I decided to return to the company where I over-consumed alcohol while working there, and it’s been amazing. I’m very grateful this opportunity presented itself just a couple months after I got sober.
My wife and I decided to go vegan in November of 2019 to help manage our health and hopefully prevent the recurrence of breast cancer for her, but I still drank entirely too much. Going plant-based, I lost about 15 pounds from November 2019-June 2020, but when I stopped drinking, the weight loss was incredible.
I’m officially down 47 pounds and have never felt better, physically and mentally, as my anxiety, sadness, anger, angst, and mental clarity have all improved dramatically.
What was the first step you took to get started achieving your goal of giving up alcohol?
The first step I took to achieve my goal was researching different resources to help me get sober.
There are a number of groups online, local groups you could meet up with (although not a great option in June 2020, so I looked more at online options), and I created a plan.
I used one particular program that listed several steps to get sober, which included journaling, changing behaviors and habits, tracking progress, having a plan, thinking about your triggers, seeking additional professional help if you need it, and telling friends and family about your goal.
This part scared the daylights out of me. It added that level of accountability I so successfully avoided for so many years. I started a journal and detailed all of the steps it suggested, but I still waited about two to three days to tell my wife.
I kept thinking, “Am I being dramatic? Do I really NEED to give it up completely? What if I try moderation”? In my experience, moderation is a lie, and I never understood the point of having just one drink anyway. Once I started, I kept going until I passed out, so this was no longer an option.
I still write in that journal, by the way. Over three years later. It’s wild to go back and read early entries to see the raw terror of giving up something that was such a big part of who I was. I was the brewery queen. The IPA girl. And now… sober? Hmmm.
I want to make a very clear note here: if someone is struggling, they also might want to seek advice from their doctor before quitting drinking cold turkey. I had some physical withdrawal symptoms and withdrawal in general, but I could manage it myself. Some folks MUST seek medical care, or they could become quite sick or die from quitting cold turkey. Please seek medical advice as well if you want to stop drinking.
What were your biggest challenges when getting sober? How did you overcome them?
Obsessing over drinking… hands down.
I still think about beer entirely too often. And now that I’ve been sober for three years, the little voice in the back of your mind as an addict whispers, “Oh, you could try drinking again; you’ve made it this long.”
Also, new “sober” experiences are a challenge. The first concert, business trip, live sporting event, etc. All the events I’d typically drink it up at that, I had to experience sober. Thankfully my wife is AMAZINGLY supportive and even quit drinking with me to support my goals. I can be very open with her when I need to step out or away from something if it gets overwhelming.
Journaling, recognizing that the feelings of wanting to drink will pass, and increasing my exercise routine help manage these triggers and feelings tremendously. I run, walk, bike, etc., especially on days I feel like I’m struggling. Sometimes getting outside to enjoy some “me” time makes all the difference.
I’ll also be really honest; I didn’t know where to put this little tidbit, so here we go.
I was never a sugar/dessert person. My dessert was always alcohol. When I first quit drinking, the sugar cravings were almost unbearable, so I started eating desserts. I basically switched from drinking alcohol to eating a stack of Oreos at night. While they are not the healthiest, it was still my way of working through my physical changes and cravings.
A few cookies, in my opinion, are still better than a 6-pack of IPA at night.
What goal success tips and techniques have worked well for you that you would like to share with my readers?
Gosh, this one is kind of hard. I don’t know why.
It’s easy to say, “Keep your goal in mind,” but you really have to be protective of yourself, your energy, and your sobriety goal. Some people might think you’re being selfish or unreasonable (which I’m finding is generally with people who don’t understand alcoholism or addiction or have problems with alcohol themselves, but they deflect and try to make over-consumption okay).
If you have to find new outlets, such as walking, running, biking, yoga, etc., find that outlet to help you work through tough emotions and hard situations that come up in life in a healthy way without giving into the urge to drink. Call a friend, text someone you know will be reasonable and supportive, and support your goal the way you need. Find those sober athletes or sober connections. I have found a multitude of sober runners, and we cheer each other on and talk through hard times together.
Your tribe will make your goals so much easier; surround yourself with people on a similar mission.
And if you have to distance yourself from previous circles because they’re triggering or hard to cope with, then you have to do that.
What else would you like my Operation Melt readers to know about you or about goal success in general?
I love to be an advocate and support those who need it. I love positivity and being able to look at a tough situation to find the good in it. Or to just be blunt and say, “Yeah, that sucks; how are we going to get through it”? I’m always goal-driven and a fixer; I use my personal experiences to make life decisions.
In my earlier answer, I mentioned that I had never told people I was trying to quit drinking because I didn’t want accountability. But sharing openly gives me the accountability I need, has helped me connect with other sober people, and has even helped some of my friends go sober. And THAT is the most incredible feeling.
I read a post on Instagram once that said, “Recover out loud to help those who suffer in silence,” so I decided to share my journey openly with everyone. I also realized that I was inspired and motivated by other sober folks who helped me get to where I am today, so I decided to post the journey openly – the good, the bad, the ugly.
Not every day is perfect, and I still have days that I would like to sit on a patio with friends and drink, but I recognize that I can’t. And doing things that support this and make me feel good and happy is honestly so important, especially on those days.
How can people learn more about you?
Instagram: @sarah.seither
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-seither-82066149
Here is another article that a local writer wrote about Sarah: https://www.cityscenecolumbus.com/communities/pickerington/running-provides-philanthropy-and-self-healing-to-pickeringt/
As I said in the beginning, Sarah’s story is an impressive tale of life-changing and life-saving goal success. I feel so fortunate to have followed her journey for the past few years, and I am grateful that she allowed me to share her story in this week’s blog.
As Sarah has proven, goals are powerful. Succeeding with your goals doesn’t happen by accident; the key to goal success is a structured approach with a few best-practice techniques. Here are a handful of the techniques that Sarah used in her quest to conquer addiction.
- Set SMART Goals: Sarah had a goal to quit drinking. She knew it wouldn’t be easy but buoyed by a strong why, she had the courage to try.
- Build a plan that works for you: Sarah leveraged technology, journaling and other tools that worked with how she is wired to achieve her success.
- Don’t go it alone: Sarah used her network of friends and contacts to help keep her accountable, ultimately leading to her success. Further, by telling her story to help others achieve success, she continued to stay true to her own goal.
- Measure Progress Daily: Sarah can tell you, and periodically does so on social media, precisely how many days it has been since her last drink. This ongoing, visible success measurement is vital to staying on track with your goal.
- Enjoy the journey: Sarah’s storytelling, use of exercise as a healthy outlet, physically challenging herself, fundraising and her amazing relationship with her loving wife help her find ways to stay positive and enjoy her daily life, even the tough days.
Most importantly, Sarah’s story is a reminder of Plato’s inspirational words: be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. I had no idea about Sarah’s struggles with addiction until she decided to share them publicly. Kindness is essential to supporting someone in their struggles, especially those you don’t know they are going through.
Are you ready to change your life through the power of goals? As a certified Master Life Coach, I can help you convert that wish into a goal, a plan and a reality. Let’s talk! Please visit the Operation Melt coaching page and submit a non-obligation inquiry form.
I believe in you; let me help YOU believe in you!
Meet Coach Tony
My name is Coach Tony, and I am a coach, author and project manager on a mission. I am working to build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.
I almost allowed one of my biggest life goals to die without ever being attempted for forty years. My goal almost died, not of failure but of loneliness. But, I took a risk and leveraged a simple, logical process that helped me wildly exceed my goal.
I transformed my life, and you can do the same with the help of Operation Melt.
Operation Melt provides engaging, practical content and hands-on coaching to inspire, motivate and equip project managers and other left-brained high-achievers to pursue and accomplish their biggest goals.
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