Dropping addictions is a very broad topic potentially filled with much darkness and negativity. So, I’m gonna skip all that. Plus, I’ve covered it elsewhere in the site.
Let’s just address the obvious and then hit some of its not-so-obvious underpinnings.
Reaching a new level will be a whole lot easier if you’re not doing it with an anvil strapped to your back
And that’s what addictions are – large anvils, in an itchy canvas sack, roped to your body as you try to summit Achievement Mountain. Hell, even if it’s just ONE anvil…it’s still an anvil. Imagine how well you’d perform if there were NO anvils!
I had to overcome a number of addictions in order to simply survive. Then I had to survive the addictions to the medications I was given to survive the trauma from the first set of addictions!
Then I got it down to nicotine and coffee. Then nicotine turned on me and was no longer my friend. Then I took a long break from coffee. (Went back to coffee and have dabbled, heavily at times, in sugar but that’s it.)
Thing is, each time I dropped another item, life improved
Can’t say I enjoyed the transition, as that was sometimes brutal beyond reason and a true testament to my Marine Corps willpower and desire to win. But I beat a lot of things. Knocked a lot of monkeys off my back. And I stood taller for it each time.
I came to realize that I’d need my body and mind operating at peak capacity if I was going to take everything to the next level. This was back in the final days of the Old Me’s existence.
I knew I had to cowboy up and take on some challenges for the good of the whole show
And it worked. I leaped forward in the areas of personal growth and strategy design.
To be honest, although I’ve never gone back to any type of drug, drink, or pharmaceutical for stress relief, I have experienced shameful bouts of overeating. Nothing too insane but nothing to be proud of either.
These moments kicked in when the load became too large, the way forward too unclear, and other hurdles were thrown in my path that had nothing to do with direct work on The Big Dream. (It’s all work on the Big Dream but hold that thought for now.)
I resorted to using coping devices. I let it happen. “Fuck it!” got said more than once, as I gave my personal approval to myself to proceed.
But each time, I’d reach a point of self-loathing and get myself back up on that horse. I’d always return to the fact that it had to be that way or I wouldn’t have what I want.
I’m pretty happy that the worst it gets these days is making sure I don’t make a pig of myself
I mean, I was rock star bad there, for awhile. But the higher I climb on the ladder of self improvement, the worse I feel when I allow myself to slip. This is a head game I run on myself to keep true to the cause.
I don’t tear my own guts out or gnash my teeth. It’s more like a rudder adjustment via negative reinforcement. I simply demand more of myself, because everyone I know who is where I want to be has done the same.
The funny thing is, by living an addiction-free life you end up enjoying life even more
Probably most of you out there aren’t fighting anything too major. Maybe a joint here and there, a nightly cocktail, a smoke while you type, 5 cups of coffee instead of 2. None of this is Earth-shattering, really.
All I’m saying is:
- Be truthful about what it is that you wish to accomplish
- Then be truthful about the gains you’ve secured thus far
- Then be truthful about whether or not you’re satisfied with the ratio between the two
If not, then demand more of yourself, clean up your act, and watch what miracles take place as your mind and body become free to devote every ounce of their capacities to the realization of your dream.