Temptation's Lessons
Today I am grateful for a nap and an understanding that temptations will pass.
Temptation is defined as a strong urge or desire to have or do something. Many temptations, if we succumb, are considered detrimental to us. An alcoholic trying to quit drinking who gives in to an urge. A smoker trying to quit who smells someone else's cigarette and says "to heck with it" and lights up too. Or maybe it is the temptation of spending time with someone that for whatever reason we are better off not spending time with.
Temptations can be especially strong when we are at our weakest. An alcoholic in his or her first days or weeks of sobriety may get fixated on a drink, develop a one track mind, and get drunk again. In my drinking days it really wasn't the drink I was fixated on as much as the feeling that came with intoxication. The escape from my self-hatred.
A person trying to lose weight and in the early days and weeks of healthier eating may be sorely tempted by some of his or her old favorites. My strongest food temptations usually involve sugar, with ice cream and chocolate topping the list. I succumbed to the temptation for a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream just the other night.
Temptations are relative. Some are more dangerous than others. Keep them in perspective. I didn't beat myself up over that pint of ice cream. I enjoyed it and then went to bed. If I were to succumb to the temptation of an ice cold beer on a hot day, the story would be different.
I find it easier, easier being a relative term as well, to avoid the temptations of my former addictions to alcohol and nicotine than it was for me when I first quit. Part of it is knowing from experience that a temptation passes. "This too shall pass" is a common recovery phrase. Doing something healthy like going for a walk, calling a friend, writing some feelings down, or drinking a glass of water can all help an urge pass.
The temptation I need to avoid these days is this little voice that sometimes tells me I don't have to keep working on my recovery, that I don't really need to keep up my daily gratitude practice. That little voice tries to convince me I have it figured out now. Wrong!
What I have figured out is that daily work for a daily disease works best. That regular gratitude practice provides ongoing benefits. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Keep on keeping on!
Temptation is defined as a strong urge or desire to have or do something. Many temptations, if we succumb, are considered detrimental to us. An alcoholic trying to quit drinking who gives in to an urge. A smoker trying to quit who smells someone else's cigarette and says "to heck with it" and lights up too. Or maybe it is the temptation of spending time with someone that for whatever reason we are better off not spending time with.
Temptations can be especially strong when we are at our weakest. An alcoholic in his or her first days or weeks of sobriety may get fixated on a drink, develop a one track mind, and get drunk again. In my drinking days it really wasn't the drink I was fixated on as much as the feeling that came with intoxication. The escape from my self-hatred.
A person trying to lose weight and in the early days and weeks of healthier eating may be sorely tempted by some of his or her old favorites. My strongest food temptations usually involve sugar, with ice cream and chocolate topping the list. I succumbed to the temptation for a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream just the other night.
Temptations are relative. Some are more dangerous than others. Keep them in perspective. I didn't beat myself up over that pint of ice cream. I enjoyed it and then went to bed. If I were to succumb to the temptation of an ice cold beer on a hot day, the story would be different.
I find it easier, easier being a relative term as well, to avoid the temptations of my former addictions to alcohol and nicotine than it was for me when I first quit. Part of it is knowing from experience that a temptation passes. "This too shall pass" is a common recovery phrase. Doing something healthy like going for a walk, calling a friend, writing some feelings down, or drinking a glass of water can all help an urge pass.
The temptation I need to avoid these days is this little voice that sometimes tells me I don't have to keep working on my recovery, that I don't really need to keep up my daily gratitude practice. That little voice tries to convince me I have it figured out now. Wrong!
What I have figured out is that daily work for a daily disease works best. That regular gratitude practice provides ongoing benefits. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Keep on keeping on!
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