#2

Becoming an Alcoholic

Hi BFF,

Contrary to popular belief, the primary ingredient for becoming an alcoholic is not Don Julio- or whatever your poison is. And it’s much simpler than a G&T recipe. You just have to go back.

Back for another shot. Back to the bar. Back for the dopamine hit- even when it comes with a splitting headache, a runny stomach, and a walk of shame at 11 a.m. the next morning. If you keep going back, one day you’ll wake up and realize that you cannot stop.

That’s when you become an alcoholic.

I was watching an interview on a platform called Crea8torium recently. Adaora Lumina was hosting, with MI Abaga and Salem King in the room. At one point, Adaora brought up a concept called “The Master of the Opposite” which was introduced in Akinlabi Akinbulumo’s book Phinc.

The theory of the Master of the Opposite is that if repetition breeds mastery, then every time you don’t do the thing you set out to do, you become a master of the opposite.

Let me break that down:

• If your goal is 5,000 steps a day, and you never hit it- you become a master of sitting down.
• If you plan to finish your work tasks each week but never do- you become a master of incompletion.
• And if you vow to spend more time with your family but constantly fall short- you become a master of absence.

The big idea surrounding this theory is that you are going to get good at something - either the thing you want, or the thing you don’t. So the real question is, what does good look like to you?

As twisted as it sounds, alcoholism is its own kind of success. Because whether we like it or not, it is proof that consistency pays off. And it requires the exact same formula as losing weight or building a business:

25% pleasure. 25% pain. 50% consistency.

Your first few drinks? Pleasure.
The hangover? Pain.
The key to success? Consistency.

Your workouts? Pain.
The endorphins? Pleasure.
The key to results? Consistency.

Your business idea? Pleasure.
Your business plan? Pain.
The key to scale? Consistency.

And even if you do nothing at all, then nothing becomes your thing. Read that again.

Either way, your life is going to be a cycle of pleasure, pain, and consistency. But whether that leads to alcoholism or a Nobel Peace Prize is entirely up to you.

Because the primary ingredient for becoming a raging success is the same one for becoming an alcoholic. You just have to go back.

What have you been going back to?

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Safe landing,

Kanyinsola

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