Roasting the coffee bean out of my life.

It was a regular morning when I overreacted. Now usually I’m calm, composed, I’m the guy that lets things slide off my shoulder. But on this day, I became a linguist of profanity. It’s not someone I feel I am in my core or someone I consciously strive to be.

I was triggered, triggered by the way my body reacted to the caffeine; it was time to give up coffee. 

As a business owner, I get clients that request meetings with me all the time, and who’s business is dependant on the melding of minds, I’m always meeting clients for the first time at trendy coffee shops. So kicking the coffee cup was a conscious decision. Something of which I thought of for a while, but my lack of focus prevented me from achieving the perk-free focus I wanted. 

Now, I love coffee, and I have since my mid-twenties since I purchased an espresso machine, which I used for a few months before stuffing it in my cabinet. You see, it wasn’t just the coffee I loved or the caffeine I craved, but I loved the coffee shop culture. It was hip, cool, filled with busy, successful-looking people.

With every order, my inner voice always questioning, “hmm, I wonder what all these $6.50 coffees are doing to my body, should I worry?” or another question I’d ask myself, “am I an addict? Nah,” I’d shrug inside, as I placed an order for a drip coffee with room. 

I convinced myself I had my coffee intake under control because I only consumed it around my business meetings, which were, on average, up to 3 times a day. And the caffeine karma was always clean because I would offer to pick up the bill for clients I would meet. “no-no, it’s ok. I got this!” It was full of warm goodness, positive energy over discussions of our software project together, or next movie production, and ideas seemed to explode.

Things changed. It started to become a problem because my want for coffee was percolating between meetings. A promise I made to myself that I’d only consume coffee during meetings, I figured, if I were going to have a bad habit, it would be while I’m going to be productive. 

My days started with a morning coffee with my wife during breakfast, then I’d grab a quick cup to sip while coding a software project, or filming, which I’d have close to me on set in a to-go cup, and times it was at night when visiting with friends or family.

It’s only been three days since I’ve quit, it’s been the three most productive days of my life. That’s why I’ve chosen to write this article. I love to write, but while in my coffee-addicted anxious haze, I always had that false sense that I never had the time. But since I’ve quit the bean, I’ve felt present, focused, and just…happy. And now that I’m #CaffeineSober, I realized what coffee and the caffeine in it did to me. I’m sharing this because, a quick google search, I couldn’t find a decent article I could connect with, so I thought I’d write one.

I’m well aware the drug affects people in different ways, but my coffee consumption made me:

• foggy in my mind
• feel like I never had enough time
• react or overreact to stressful events
• feel like I was carrying the weight of the world’s projects
• feel distant from my wife and kids
• feel like I couldn’t handle my daily stress loads and would push myself to get through them.
• not find the joy in the admin tasks of my business, like invoicing, or writing an article like this.
• not want to go to the gym because I would see a workout as an unachievable entire body, two-hour commitment, where now I see them as more focused, micro workouts.
• feel bloated around my waistline

The list goes on, but I didn’t feel GOOD.

I enjoy my coffee with lots of cream and lots of honey. I suspect there’s a possible combination of the three, caffeine, dairy, and sugar, a triple whammy of things which are affecting my mental health, and something I’m going to be tracking, but that’s an entirely different article. But for now, I’m enjoying a flatter stomach as well.

I’m not basing my article off any science. But there seems to be a common observation of the side effects of coffee. According to WebMD, coffee containing caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness, and restlessness, stomach upset, nausea and vomiting, increased heart and breathing rate, and other side effects. 

And if you hold a celebrity’s opinion as an expert’s, here’s an article. Harry Quits Alcohol, Tea, and Coffee for New Year as Meghan’s Healthy Lifestyle Rubs Off

I’m not arguing about the benefits either. I’m sharing my own experience in hopes that if you’re like me, there’s nothing wrong with finding the solution for your happiness.

Roasting the bean from my life hasn’t taken the joy out of meeting clients at trendy coffee shops — sipping something over discussions about video game development, software development, and movie production projects. I’ve switched to teas, I still pick up the bill, and my days are a bit brighter, and my resting-smile-face just a bit larger.

Tell me how quitting coffee has made you feel? 

Raoul Bhatt

https://instagram.com/Raoul 

https://www.facebook.com/BhattTech/

About me, the Author:
I began my career as a graphic artist when I was still in high school, then followed with eight years of developing software before having the courage to create my own Windows XP based software in the mid 2005s with the goal of licensing it to users around the world. During that time, I had a secret passion for film, and making shortfilms and music videos, of which I wasn’t public about…. Fast forward to 2019. I’ve accumulated nearly a million users of my softwares, and developed over 2000 unique projects of which I’ve spent as the writer for, leading and developing my skills for the larger projects I create today which I post frequently on my channels.