Let Me Be Blunt: I Slipped
For four weeks, I traded in my sparkling water for wine. Why? Because life came knocking with a sledgehammer—my husband had surgery, and apparently, my mental toughness decided it needed a little vacation of its own.
Owning the Setback
Up until then, I’d been cruising along in my non-drinker lifestyle. Strong, clear-headed, and—if I’m being really honest—a little smug. (Nothing like a few alcohol-free months to make you feel like you’ve cracked the code of life.) But stress has a way of sneaking into waiting rooms, whispering in your ear, and reminding you that you’re still human.
One glass turned into two. Two into four. And before I knew it, I wasn’t sipping—I was fully back in the club. Four weeks of clinking glasses, not with joy, but with exhaustion and overwhelm. It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t progress.
The Lessons Hidden in the Hiccup
Here’s the thing I learned the hard way: mental toughness isn’t on autopilot. You don’t “arrive” one day, collect your badge, and live happily ever after. It’s more like going to the gym for your mindset. Skip too many reps, and when stress shows up with a barbell, you’re flat on the floor.
I realized I’d been coasting, thinking busyness alone was a coping strategy. But when a hospital night and weeks of caregiving hit, the cracks showed. My default was old comfort in a bottle instead of new tools I thought I had mastered. Spoiler alert: I hadn’t.
And yet, those four weeks were a kind of rough teacher. They reminded me why I chose the non-drinker path in the first place. The foggy mornings, the restless sleep, the guilt—none of that is what I want my life to look like. I want clarity. I want self-respect. I want a life that feels fully mine, not one negotiated with a corkscrew.
Getting Back on Track
One morning, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The woman looking back didn’t look like someone “renovating” her life. She looked like someone patching leaks with duct tape and denial. That was the wake-up call I needed.
So, I pulled myself back into non-drinker mode. I doubled down on business building instead of just being busy. And I poured inspirational and motivational words into my ears and brain. I threw myself into my workouts, sweating out the stress instead of numbing it. Most importantly, I reminded myself of my “why.” My reason is bigger than any bottle: I’m rebuilding a life I don’t want to escape from.
I certainly didn’t want to become an unhealthy burden to my husband nor son.
And you know what? The bounce-back was quicker than I feared. Because while I slipped, I hadn’t lost everything. I still had the tools; I just had to pick them up again.
Encouragement to You
If you’ve had your own hiccup, let me say this loud and clear: you are not broken, you are human. One chapter doesn’t erase your whole story. Falling down isn’t the end—it’s part of the journey. The only thing that matters is that you stand back up.
And for heaven’s sake, give yourself some credit when you do. We’re not aiming for perfect streaks here—we’re aiming for resilience. You may wobble, stumble, or take a four-week detour like I did. But as long as you keep walking forward, you’re still on the path.
Closing Thoughts
My four-week detour taught me something I never could have learned from a flawless record: resilience isn’t about never falling. It’s about never staying down.
So, to anyone clutching a sparkling water after a slip, I’m raising my glass (of bubbles, the alcohol-free kind) to you. We’re not defined by the drinks we had or the mistakes we made. We’re defined by the courage to keep renovating, even when the foundation gets tested.
Because this is The Lisa Renee Project, after all. And like any project worth doing, it’s messy, unpredictable, and full of surprises. But it’s also proof that we can rebuild stronger—one day, one choice, one sparkling glass at a time.
All my love,
Lisa Renee