Disrupt the Pattern helps creative professionals break the alcohol cycle that keeps you from addressing the real areas blocking your creativity—feeling blocked, drained, or hidden. Each episode uses a randomized question generator to spark real-time reflection—no scripts, no planning, just honest exploration of what’s potentially blocking your creative potential.
We start with exploring one randomly selected question about the areas that disrupt creativity: blocked, drained, or hidden. These feelings can show up with anyone; the distinction is when alcohol becomes the escape instead of working with what’s actually happening. Through awareness and action, you’ll learn to disrupt your relationship with alcohol and unlock the creativity that’s been waiting.
The Question
“When you say ‘I’m not that bad,’ what does that protect you from admitting about alcohol’s role in your limits?”
This question reveals Hidden—where minimizing the impact of alcohol becomes a shield against admitting how it’s actually holding you back from your best work.
The Connection
There’s a specific phrase that keeps creative professionals stuck for years: “I’m not that bad.”
It’s an excuse. And if we’re being honest with ourselves, we know it.
You’re functioning. You’re showing up to work. You’re not causing obvious problems. So when someone questions whether you want another drink, it doesn’t register. Because in your mind, you’re not that bad. You’re a functioning professional who happens to drink.
But here’s what “I’m not that bad” actually protects you from admitting: That those three or four extra drinks after everyone leaves matter. That waking up at noon having pissed away half the day matters. That the shame you’re wallowing in matters. That asking yourself “what the fuck happened?” matters.
The comparison game—measuring yourself against some imagined worse version—keeps you from seeing the actual cost. You’re not evaluating whether alcohol is helping you create your best work. You’re just defending your right to keep drinking because it’s “not that bad.”
But your creative capacity doesn’t care about comparisons to other people. It only cares about whether you’re showing up with clarity or showing up diminished. Whether you’re creating from your full potential or from whatever’s left after managing the impact of alcohol.
When you tell yourself “I’m not that bad,” you’re choosing to protect the drinking instead of protecting your creative work. You’re making alcohol more important than the projects waiting for your full attention, the ideas that need your clarity, the work that deserves your best energy.
The pattern keeps you hidden because as long as you’re “not that bad,” you never have to face what you’re actually capable of without alcohol limiting you.
The Action
“Disrupt the Pattern by Getting Honest”
This isn’t about labeling yourself or comparing yourself to anyone else. This is about removing the excuse that keeps you stuck.
Practice radical honesty for one week:
Remove alcohol completely for seven days—eliminate the thing you’re defending
When the thought “I’m not that bad” comes up, replace it with: “Am I creating my best work right now?”
Notice what you’ve been protecting yourself from admitting about alcohol’s actual role in your creative limits
What This Looks Like for Alcohol-Free Creativity
Space
Honest assessment of your creative output instead of defensive comparisons
Energy directed toward your work instead of managing the impact of drinking
Full days available for creativity instead of half-days spent recovering
Clarity
Recognition that “not that bad” is still not your best
Understanding that functioning while drinking isn’t the same as thriving without it
Awareness that the excuse was protecting the alcohol, not protecting you
The Result
Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine yourself sitting with complete honesty about alcohol’s role in your creative limits—no comparisons, no excuses, no “I’m not that bad.” Just clarity about whether you’re creating from your full potential or from what’s left after drinking.
And in that honesty, imagine the possibility: What would your work look like if you created from a place of clarity, without alcohol taking any of your energy, any of your time, any of your capacity?
This is how we disrupt the pattern: Through awareness. By removing the excuse that keeps us hidden. By admitting that “not that bad” was never the right standard for our creative work.
Your best work isn’t waiting for you to get worse before you make a change. It’s waiting for you to get honest about what alcohol is actually costing you—and to choose your creative potential over the excuse.
When you remove the defense of “I’m not that bad,” you discover what’s possible when you’re actually at your best. And that’s where your most important work has been waiting all along.
What’s Next
The 30-Day Alcohol-Free Reset starts on January 1st.
If you want to see what your creativity feels like without alcohol in the way, this is your moment.
Join the early list and I’ll notify you the second doors open.
Reveal Your Area
Are you experiencing feeling Blocked, Drained, or Hidden?
Understanding which area you’re stuck in—and how alcohol is keeping you there—is the first step to breaking free.
If you are ready to explore what sobriety can bring to your creativity, book an exploration call with me.
Each week, a new question. A new area to explore. See you in the next episode.
