When Big Change Feels Impossible, Start Smaller
If you’ve ever told yourself you need to drink less, get your life together, or finally follow through on the changes you keep thinking about—but then found yourself right back where you started—this episode is for you.
I’m talking with Eric Zimmer, host of The One You Feed podcast and author of How a Little Becomes a Lot, about why lasting change usually doesn’t happen through one huge breakthrough. It happens through small, repeated choices that slowly build momentum.
Eric knows this work from the inside out. He’s spent years studying behavior change, recovery, resilience, and meaningful living, and he brings both practical tools and deep compassion to the conversation. And honestly, this episode is such an important reminder that you are not failing because change is hard—you’re human, and real transformation usually happens little by little.
The Question at the Heart of This Conversation
How do you create lasting change—especially around drinking—when you want a different life but part of you still wants to stay the same?
This Episode Is For You If…
✅ You keep trying to drink less or stop drinking, but feel stuck in the same cycle
✅ You’re exhausted by the back-and-forth of “I want to change” and “I don’t want to give this up”
✅ You’ve been relying on willpower and wondering why it never seems to last
✅ You want practical tools for behavior change that actually work in real life
✅ You need hope that small steps still count, even if you’re not where you want to be yet
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
❇️ Why lasting behavior change usually happens through small choices, not one dramatic turning point
❇️ How sober momentum builds, and why it gets easier to keep going once you’ve started
❇️ Why the early stage of drinking less can feel like being torn in two
❇️ How to handle cravings, ambivalence, and the voice that tells you to keep drinking
❇️ Why identity-based change is more powerful than chasing outcomes like weight loss or productivity
❇️ How to use structure, support, and environment to make drinking less more doable
❇️ What helps rebuild self-trust after breaking promises to yourself again and again
The Shifts That Change Everything 🌤️
☀️ You do not need to wait until you fully want to stop drinking to begin.
☀️ Small wins matter because they build confidence, momentum, and self-trust.
☀️ The goal is not perfection—it’s moving in the right direction, consistently.
☀️ Change gets easier when you stop trying to do everything at once.
☀️ The freedom you want may feel impossible right now, but it becomes real with distance and practice.
This Is How Change Actually Happens
One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that if change hasn’t worked before, it won’t work this time. But this time is different—because you are different. You have more awareness, more experience, and more evidence than you did before.
If you’ve been stuck in the cycle of trying, stopping, starting over, and wondering what’s wrong with you, I hope this conversation gives you a little more compassion and a much clearer path forward. You don’t have to change your whole life overnight. You just need the next right step—and then the one after that.
Tune in to hear Eric Zimmer’s practical, compassionate approach to habit change, sobriety, and meaningful living—and why the smallest choices are often the ones that change everything.
🎧 Related Episodes You Might Like
If this conversation resonated with you, here are a few episodes to go deeper on habit change, your inner voice, and building a life you don’t want to escape from:
🔗 Ep. 134: Your Addictive Voice and The One You Feed (with Eric Zimmer)
🔗 Ep. 143: 4 Paths to Sobriety
🔗 Ep. 234: A Habit Change Approach To Quitting Drinking
🔗 Ep. 58: All About Sober Treats
🔗 Ep. 296: How To Actually Change Your Life (Not Just Say You Want To)
🔗 Ep. 113: 20 NEW Questions To Ask Yourself About Your Drinking
🔗 Ep. 271: What You Don’t Know About Alcohol And Your Body | Hello Someday Coaching
🔗 Ep. 225: Alcohol Explained with William Porter | Hello Someday Coaching
📌 If You’re New Here
About me: I’m Casey McGuire Davidson, a sobriety and life coach for busy sober-curious women and host of The Hello Someday Podcast. Around here we talk stress, careers, kids, marriages—and all the messy, beautiful parts of building a life you don’t need to escape from.
If you’re ready for structure, tools, and a community that actually gets you, you’re in the right place. 💛
You’ve got this. And I’m right here with you. 💛
❤️ Ready to take a real break from drinking?
If you want structure, support, and a plan that actually works, check out my Sobriety Starter Kit coaching program.
You’ll get:
🎯 A proven step-by-step plan to get out of the drinking cycle
✅ Tools to handle cravings and triggers without white-knuckling
💬 A private community of women who get it
🧠 Mindset shifts to help you sleep better and stress less
It’s helped over 1,500 women feel better, sleep deeper, and actually enjoy life without alcohol.
👉 Join The Sobriety Starter Kit Now
More Ways I Can Support You In Drinking Less + Living More
Save your seat in my FREE MASTERCLASS, 5 Secrets To Successfully Take a Break From Drinking
Grab the Free 30-Day Guide To Quitting Drinking, 30 Tips For Your First Month Alcohol-Free.
Connect with me for free sober coaching tips, updates + videos on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok @hellosomedaysober.
Love The Podcast and Want To Say Thanks?
☕ Buy me a coffee!
In the true spirit of Seattle, coffee is my love language.
So if you want to support the hours that go into creating this show each week, click this link to buy me a coffee and I’ll run to the nearest Starbucks + lift a Venti Almond Milk Latte and toast to you!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hellosomeday
💕 Support the sponsors of The Hello Someday Podcast
You can find all the special discounts mentioned on the show right here: https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/sponsors/
Leave me a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I read every single review and they really help the podcast algorithm decide to share my show with a wider audience.
I’ll be forever grateful to hear from you and to read reviews like this one from Laura,
“I’ve listened to so many sober podcasts and The Hello Someday Podcast is by far THE BEST Sobriety Podcast out there for women. This podcast was key to me quitting alcohol. Casey’s practical tips and tricks are invaluable, with advice I haven’t heard anywhere else. If I could give this podcast 27 stars I would!!”
More on Eric Zimmerman
Eric Zimmer is an author, teacher, speaker, and the creator of The One You Feed podcast—an award-winning show with over 50 million downloads across 800+ conversations exploring meaningful living.
At 24, Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin, and facing prison. His journey from those depths sparked his lifelong inquiry into human transformation and resilience. Through his behavior coaching, workshops, and mentorship, he has guided thousands worldwide in creating sustainable habits that last—not through willpower or epiphany, but through steady change. His approach combines cutting-edge science with timeless wisdom, providing practical pathways to greater integrity and deeper meaning.
Connect with Casey
Take a screenshot of your favorite episode, post it on your Instagram and tag me @caseymdavidson and tell me your biggest takeaway!
Want to read the full transcript of this podcast episode? Scroll down on this page.
ABOUT THE HELLO SOMEDAY PODCAST FOR SOBER CURIOUS WOMEN
Are you looking for the best sobriety podcast for women? The Hello Someday Podcast was created specifically for sober curious women and gray area drinkers ready to stop drinking, drink less and change their relationship with alcohol.
Host Casey McGuire Davidson, a certified life and sobriety coach and creator of The 30-Day Guide to Quitting Drinking and The Sobriety Starter Kit® Sober Coaching Course, brings together her experience of quitting drinking while navigating work and motherhood, along with the voices of experts in personal development, self-care, addiction and recovery and self-improvement.
Whether you know you want to stop drinking and live an alcohol-free life, are sober curious, or are in recovery this is the best sobriety podcast for you.
A Top 100 Mental Health Podcast, ranked in the top 1% of podcasts globally, The Hello Someday Podcast is the best sobriety podcast for women.
In each episode Casey will share the tried and true secrets of how to drink less and live more.
Learn how to let go of alcohol as a coping mechanism, how to shift your mindset about sobriety and change your drinking habits, how to create healthy routines to cope with anxiety, people pleasing and perfectionism, the importance of self-care in early sobriety, and why you don’t need to be an alcoholic to live an alcohol-free life.
Be sure to grab the Free 30-Day Guide To Quitting Drinking right here.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode.
I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors!
Learn more: https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/sponsors/
