I’m on a quest. It started last Wednesday, but I was waiting to see its stability in intent before the announcement. My intent has not wavered since, and thus I am ready to announce it. I am on a quest to vanquish my worst foe: myself. Or rather, my vices. I am on a quest to sever my ties to severe the ties to worldly pleasures. I am on a quest for independence and freedom.

I am on a quest to quit coffee.

It’s delicious, it gives me energy to get through the day and it has no side effects to speak of, so why? Well, very simple: the moment I stop drinking it I die. It’s instant; for some reason I am not able to drink coffee on any given morning, I can count on being miserable and irritable for the entire day. Like clockwork. And I think there is a better way to live.

It has not been that difficult, up until today. The first days were the worst, but only marginally compared to normal days. In fact I was surprised because I was on average more or else equally tired. It’s compounding, though, so let’s see how that goes.

I have replaced my lonely cup of coffee of each morning with a more substantial and healthy breakfast that can help me get through the morning (I always ended up taking a snack mid-morning because I was so hungry). I am waking up a bit earlier and savoring the morning better. I end up in a better mood, even. As I said before, we’ll have to see how this goes, because if it compounds, I either sleep more (which I am already trying to do) or I recover the habit. Coffee or not, I will not allow sub-par performance throughout the day.

It’s not a big quest, but it is an interesting one. And if it goes correctly, I’ll have the secret weapon of a lot of caffeine on a body that is not accustomed to it.