Since I mentioned it in my last post, I thought it would be a good idea to share the whole story.
I was 28 when I decided to stop drinking coffee. Since I was 15 years old, I had an average of 3 to 5 espressos per day (you know I’m Italian…), so I wanted to see how my life would sound without it.
I was aware that it would take a lot of effort to break the habit, so I started in August, in order to have my body and mind full of energy.
The result?
For the first 15 days, I looked and acted like a zombie. Really. But after a couple of weeks, it was as if I had never had coffee in my life. I substituted coffee with teas, shakes, and juices, while still maintaining the Italian tradition of taking breaks in bars and cafeterias.
After a successful month, I decided to continue for 100 days. After 100 days, I decided to continue for a year. And after a year, I decided to continue without setting an end.
However, this is a post about the day I started drinking coffee again, so…
It was a dinner, and it was one and a half years after I had started my new habit. It was me and three other people. We had a great dinner and a very good time. The waiter came to the table after dinner and asked, “How many coffees?”
There were four of us, and all three of the others raised their hands. Not me.
However, the waiter came back with four coffees.
I asked my friends if someone wanted two coffees. No one said yes. I asked the waiter if he wanted my coffee. He said no. I asked the other tables if someone wanted an extra coffee offered by me. No one said yes. Then the waiter told me, “No problem, we’re wasting it.”
In that moment, I was torn. Part of me wanted to maintain the streak, while the other part didn’t want to waste the coffee. I would have lost either way.
Anyway, after five seconds of reflection (and laughs with the other people at the table… they knew about the challenge), I told the waiter that I had decided to break my precious streak and have a coffee again. 561 days after my last one.
The reason? It’s good to have positive habits, but they are a means to make us better human beings, not a goal.
And after more than 10 years (and lots of cups of coffee), I am still proud of that moment
