You already know what I’m going to say here, don’t you?

But you came here out of curiosity.

Maybe I’ll have a new idea you haven’t tried before.

Maybe I’ll confirm what you’ve always said about not mixing colors of spirits, or remind you about “Beer before liquor, get sick quicker…”

Maybe you want to finally read that gin/tequila/whiskey is to blame for everything that is wrong with the world AND your emotional instability.

You came to see if perhaps I’ll push the Hangover Pill.

But alas. I hate pills. (Although I would definitely take the red pill.)

But here it is. Plain and simple: Pay attention to how much you drink and stop drinking before you get drunk.

Mindfulness is something you can develop. It’s a concept that’s been applied to eating, walking, doing the dishes, or any chore where we find ourselves mentally in the past or future. It can be developed through bringing your consciousness online and present in every situation. You can be fully aware of the flavors that hit your tongue and the temperature of what you consume. You can maximize your enjoyment by noticing the subtlest of intricacies. You can detect every ingredient in your drink!

Mindfulness takes intelligence to develop and we aren’t always our brightest selves when we’re drinking.

So change it up. Consider the reasons why you drink. Are you experiencing something interesting and pleasurable or are you self-medicating?