Mar 10, 2013

On Addictions and Other Things


By Jennifer Debenham

I have a dear family member who got caught up in drugs as a youth but has fought valiantly, with tremendous support from his parents and family, to overcome the addiction. One way he fights, is by replacing the old addiction with a positive activity. In his case it is working out—hard, real hard—for a minimum of two hours every day. He also has turned into a relative health fanatic. He constantly looks at nutrition facts to determine if something will be good for his body.

It got me to thinking that I don’t have a physically destructive addiction that I need to overcome, but I do have habits that keep me from accomplishing some of my goals in life—chief among them—writing. Well . . . writing a lot. And succeeding at it.

It seems there are so many distractions in life, good and, well, less so, that keep us from truly being our best selves. My good ones are my kids, my husband, my church calling, my homemaking, my time serving others, my job. My “less so” are television shows that I just have to see to “get caught up” or that pesky little word game on my phone that keeps me entertained if I have a couple minutes to spare. It hasn’t escaped my attention that all those two-, or five-, or ten-minute breaks add up to an hour pretty fast. An hour I could spend WRITING.

And even worthy distractions can be managed. If I’m organized.

That's the real struggle.

It dawned on me today, though, while reflecting on the progress of my inspiring loved one, that I need to find my own positive habit to replace my “less-so” ones.

Hellurrrhhh! Writing!

Every day.

No exceptions.

Two hours?

I’ve got this!

Wish me luck. (I'll need it.)

And happy writing!

 

1 comment:

  1. Good luck! You can do it! And I agree...those 5 miuntes here and 10 minutes there can add up to a lot of writing time! hugs~

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