Sometimes it’s the no-brainers that pose the biggest challenge, especially if they’re delicious!
Ever have one of those things that you just do even though you know it’s no good for you? I don’t get that. I mean, I know in the Bible somewhere there’s a passage something along the lines of (and I’m paraphrasing massively here) “why can I not do the things I want to do and yet do the things I don’t want to do”. Maybe it’s in Lamentations, I’m not sure. That would sure make sense, huh, a lamentation about doing something like that? I guess it goes to show you that this sort of conundrum has been around a long, long time. It’s like that with me eating candy in the afternoon.
Now, I’m nobody’s idiot (well, maybe I am and I don’t know it. There could be someone out there who thinks I’m dim-witted and owns me but they’ve never said anything. Then again maybe I’m just to slow to figure it out. Who knows?} Anyway, I figure I know a thing or two about what’s good for me and what’s not and candy does not fall into the “good” category. Yet I still have a Snickers or a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup every day after lunch. I think it has something to do with a craving for finishing a meal with something sweet.
I’ve realized for a long time, like years, that I have this urge to have something sweet at the end of a meal. Maybe it’s because growing up we never had dessert and when we did it was a real treat and I’m trying to treat myself now with candy because deep, deep down I think I deserve it or I feel like my life is such a struggle that I should reward myself and take control of my happiness by giving myself candy. Wow, that was a long-winded, psychiatrist-couch explanation, wasn’t it. Then again, maybe I just like candy. (Self-psychoanalysis makes my head hurt anyway) I don’t want to make this any more complex than it really is but here’s the deal; tackling a bad habit, one we know is to our detriment, sometimes begins with knowing our motivations.
Sometimes in order to “fix” the problem we have to know what caused the problem or it never goes away. In fact it gets worse. It’s like putting a cake pan on the rafters in the basement under the very, very slow drip from above because the water will evaporate without filling the pan and ignoring the source of the water (the bathroom above). I’m not saying I’ve ever done this, mind you. That would be lazy and totally unfair to the new owners, especially if they had to completely gut the bathroom including the tub and sub-floor because everything was water-damaged rotten. Just as a for-instance you understand.
The truth is I don’t really know the source of the candy cravings after a meal but I do know their consequences. Cavities are a real thing and weight gain happens, people. I’m sure my doc would give me one of those looks and say, “You know, Doug, that’s really not a good thing for your diabetes.” (Maybe I am somebody’s idiot after all) I think it’s pretty clear that continuing on the road to perdition, especially suffering from the consequences and seeing the effects is a whole new level of cranial density that just has to stop.
This is one habit where I’ll most likely replace the bad thing with a good thing. That’s really all that needs to be done but as is so often the case it will take some planning and forethought. Part of the candy thing is convenience (darn those people that stock the break room!). I’ll have to take carrots or celery or something else “healthy” (yuck) to have after lunch. Maybe instead of candy I’ll grab a bag of peanuts, not a super substitute like yummy celery but better than a Snickers (in what way I don’t know). Come to think of it, this might be more of a struggle than I first thought. I guess we’ll see. I’ll check back in on this one to let you know how it goes.
Ever have one of those things you do that’s just wrong but you kept doing it? How did you kick it? I’d love to hear the story. It might give me some encouragement on this deal.
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