90 Days No Coffee: Lessons Learned
The Impact of Leadership (IOL)
IOL exists to equip, connect & grow leaders while having fun. You were made for community. Join IOL and grow!
I went without coffee for 94 days. I wanted to understand my relationship with caffeine better. At the time, my average intake was 400-500mg of caffeine a day.
During those few months, there were several lessons learned. What follows are the main ones.?
Morning Routines Matter?
I toughed it out with zero mg of caffeine during the first three days of the coffee fast.
Of course, it's sick, but I wanted to see what would happen.
One of the first things I noticed was how I automatically went to flip on the kettle after drinking my?ACV ?and water.
No coffee broke my morning routine, and I felt it.
One HUGE help was incorporating?Mud/Wtr ?into my morning. It wasn't coffee, but it was hot, brown, and had the action of making coffee. It made me feel like my morning routine was back together.
As I'm typing this, it seems so dumb, but it happened to me.
Who Am I Anymore?!?
My personality has a bend toward extroversion.
On the DiSC assessment, I'm an iD. I like to have a good time, if the spotlight shines on me, I won't shy away from it, but I also don't need it.?
One of the curious pieces to this experiment was the idea of who people know me to be. For example, if I've been ingesting a solid amount of caffeine for the last several years, then people know me to be caffeinated.?
Why does that matter??
Maybe it doesn't.?
I wondered if people knew me as me or a version of me that was keyed up a notch or two. Maybe I'm not that nice of a guy. So what's the?real?me?
Caffeine Is a Drug
The two most popular things people say to me when talking about the coffee fast are:?
A close third is "you're a psychopath."
Check this article out ?if you're interested. The short version is,?
"Coffee contains caffeine, a natural stimulant responsible for coffee's addictive properties."
"Caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world."?
领英推荐
Mushrooms & Sleep Are Awesome
I will not say that the Mud/Wtr concoction I drank boosted my outlook on life, and I certainly didn't see any psychedelic colors.
(Mud/Wtr is a mushroom coffee alternative, yep, I'm that guy)
Since swapping my regime of?Mud/Wtr ?for decaf in the morning, I do not have the same energy level or mental clarity I did in month 3 of the coffee fast. Not at all.
I also was getting better sleep during the fast from about day 35ish. Specifically, I felt like I was sleeping deeper.?
It's hard to explain, but if you go to the bathroom at night and struggle with a racing mind, you know it's hard to turn that off. Or maybe the slightest noise disrupts your sleep.?
Shallow sleep vs. deep sleep.?
I'd wake up, go to the bathroom, and cash out immediately when I laid back down.??
Maybe it was the shrooms, lack of caffeine, or something else. But my sleep was better.?
*Two things need to be said at this point:
More Than Caffeine?
We crave comfort. Physically, emotionally and spiritually.?
Our bodies can go further than we typically push them. However, our natural bend toward comfort constantly combats our potential.?
Here's a post that will get likes but most won't do anything with:
Comfort and growth are mutually exclusive.?
You will find a way IF you want something strong enough. Me too.?
Here's a list of things we probably don't want bad enough:
Here's a list of small ways to begin training yourself to embrace discomfort:
The Impact of Leadership exists to equip, connect and grow leaders while having fun.
Bring us on your podcasts, into your company, and connect with us on social media.?
We're rooting for you.?
You're not alone.
NEED MORE??
Go to our?YouTube ?page for more encouraging and fun content.??
We've got?over 100 podcasts ?to aid in your growth as a leader.