The other night I attended the Fat Boy Slim gig in Manchester. Having recently made the decision to dabble in not drinking for a while, I found myself feeling anxious about attending such an event without alcohol. But since I started this journey I have pushed myself to these social situations and actually doing more than I ever have due to not being hungover. But a Fat Boy Slim gig, edm music, dancing around in front of people…..fuck that ! hmmm maybe this was a bit too far.
I started this business to connect people in cities with feel good events, instead of events that we are predisposed to always associate with alcohol. So keeping an open mind I went fully into this with the goal of not drinking and seeing how it unfolded
Here are my main learnings
- Nobody is paying attention to you as much as you think they are
- People probably think you are just as drunk as they are
- They have great alcohol free options at gigs now that gives you something to do with your hands
- Not drinking you notice a lot of other people not drinking or drinking alcohol free options
- You have less energy than you would by drinking
- You do feel awkward at first, but quickly goes away
Overall I had a great time and was able to then be hangover free the next day.
It got me thinking of people’s expectations or predisposition when it comes to social wellness and what that is. Straight away when I ask people, the normal response is hippie dippie yoga, mediation, run clubs and being a boring bastard. But if I told them eat, sleep rave repeat as my friend Fat Boy Slim would say they might look at you a bit confused.
But what is the actual difference between a run club for example and a music gig like that? The similarities are there
- Both are a gathering of a group of people who have a common interest
- Both get the heart rate up
- Both having you talking to complete strangers and meeting new people
- Both make you feel a rush of energy and release endorphins
- Both listening to music and running release dopamine making us feel great
The only difference is context and whether you drink or not I suppose. But overall social wellness is what makes you feel good while interacting socially. If you google the definition you get
“Social wellness involves building healthy, nurturing, and supportive relationships as well as fostering a genuine connection with those around you”
For me both a Fat Boy Slim gig and a Friday night run club, can be your social wellness community. So don’t take what most of the internet defines or limits social wellness too, create your own definition, do what makes you happy, interact with others, do something you have never done before, and maybe smile a bit more while doing it. You will be amazed what might happen.
Find something you have never done before in our list of events !
