Yesterday I took (and passed) the Washington Real Estate Broker Exam. I've wanted to get my real estate license for a few years now, and never quite got around to it. On the way home I got to thinking about what led me to finally do it, and I realized it was KTC. So I wanted to share some thoughts and an update with anyone out there who might relate.
I quit dipping in April, with the help of KTC and everyone here. It's been a rough but rewarding journey. But how does quitting dip lead me to getting my real estate license? Over the past few months I've realized that I had (and still have) a lot of bad habits and addictions. Quitting dip has forced my to face many of these head-on, as the majority have become entangled over the past 14 years of dipping.
My nightly routine for a few years looked something like this: Play video games, dip, and drink. My rotation was typically drink a beer, put in a dip, spit into that bottle or can until I wanted another beer, rinse and repeat. This rotation would keep me up late into the night just having 1 more beer and then 1 more dip (repeatedly). Then I'd wake up in the morning feeling like shit, and end up doing the same thing the next day. I used to tell myself that I deserved to stay up and have fun because I didn't get to do anything I wanted to do during the day. I'd put off going to sleep because I dreaded waking up in the morning and having to face the reality of the daily grind.
When I quit dipping, I started drinking even more because there was nothing to do in between beers. (Spoiler Alert! Eventually this led me to confront the drinking problem I'd had for years). A few weeks into my quit I had to stop playing video games. It was just too much of a trigger. Honestly I never realized how much time I spent playing until I had to quit.
With no video games to play, no '1 last dip' or '1 last beer', I had nothing to do in the evenings. In the beginning I was going to bed as early as possible as a coping mechanism to keep me from craving nicotine. After a while, though, I started waking up a little earlier. I was feeling better every day that I was off the nicotine. I didn't hate myself every day because I wasn't a slave to the can. It was still hard but I was moving in the right direction. As the cravings lessened, I was still going to bed earlier. I was still waking up earlier. I still had nothing to do in the evenings (except drink), and I was looking for anything to keep my mind off dip. Looking for something to do, I finally signed up for an online Real Estate Broker class.
I poked away at that in my free time for about 2 months or so, as my HOF grew nearer. Even as I quit playing video games, and quit dipping, and was feeling better in most ways - my drinking (already high) was ticking up. Quitting dip and video games made me really face my drinking as well. I decided that if I could quit dip with the simple formula of B+A=S, then I could quit beer also.
Well, it's been a lot harder than I thought it'd be, and I'm only at 44 days which is by no means a huge accomplishment. Every day is still a struggle. But when I also got off the booze, that's when things started to really take off. Now I had literally nothing to do in the evenings. I had to find something to do. I had already paid for the real estate course so I started hitting that any time I wasn't working, playing with my daughter, doing something with (or for) my wife, or making dinner/doing housework.
As time went by, each day off the dip, off the games, and off the booze, I started feeling better. Waking up earlier. Going to bed earlier. Enjoying life more. I even started exercising in the morning. I finished my coursework, signed up for the test, took it and passed it on the first try. Next week I'll be a licensed real estate broker. I have a baby, I'm in the Army Reserve, and I have a full-time job. I've told some of my friends that I passed the test and they don't understand.
"How did you do that? How do you have time to take 90 hours of coursework?!"
I never knew how much of my life I was wasting on shit that was either killing me (at worst) or was a total waste of time (at best) until I quit dipping. It's crazy to me that the 1 change of quitting dip was such a catalyst for change in my life.
I am humbled by the support I've received on this site by total strangers, and eternally grateful for the positive changes that are taking place in my life. I just wanted to take some time out to say thanks to everyone here. Without you all I'd have a quarter-can of grizzly in my mouth right now, sitting in front a tv with a beer and a PlayStation controller, looking forward to spending the weekend that way. Instead I'm celebrating a huge win, another day off the nic, another day sober, and looking forward spending some time with my wife and daughter tonight.
Oh and I'll be up early exercising tomorrow on the bicycle trainer that I bought with some of the money I've saved, even though it'll be Saturday. Because now I look forward to tomorrow, and I wake up excited to face the day. Thanks for that, too.
Zombo Funk - 143 / 44 - NAFAR