Addictions have been there for as long as we have lived. Life can be hard and sometimes we turn to certain lifestyle choices which in time become habit. Not all these choices are good, and those that aren’t can really hurt us mentally.
Addiction issues range from all manner of things and aren’t just restricted to the things we here about in the media. The definition of addiction is something that you feel you cannot go with out and have no control over when confronted with it.
Addiction it isn’t just alcohol or drugs or gambling. Smoking is an addiction, over eating is an addiction, reliance on sugary drinks is an addiction, chocolate is an addiction! We can be addicted to things and not even know it. Being a bully is an addiction, controlling people (another term for a bully) is an addiction, being a jackass is also an addiction!
How I see it is that there 3 types of addictions. Positive addictions, Negative addictions and Neutral addictions. We want to use Positive addictions to propel ourselves to better lives, and use negative addiction to build our will power and create resolve. The neutral addictions are those addictions that don’t hurt us one way or the other but we need to keep them in check, sitting down and eating a packet of chocolate biscuits does not help us but isn’t something we should allow to make us feel bad or guilty unless it is something we are doing on a daily basis, two or three times. Losing control is the issue, we have to look at what it is that makes us lose that control in order to move forward.
We can use our negative addictions to fuel us, to create a burning desire if we learn to look at them for what they are, a distraction from living the life that we want. I personally haven’t had an alcoholic drink in well over 10 years now, and it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I choose not to. Alcohol was my drug, and I abused it to the point where if I hadn’t stopped when I did (in 2008) I was going to have some serious health issues and more.
What worked for me was find something to replace that addictive process with something else, distract the mind so to speak. For me, I bought a dog and I walked the dog religiously at the times that I would drink, and not just a short walk, long walks, an hour plus, and these walks would tire me out, I wasn’t a particularly healthy person in those days so it was challenging for me to walk, but I had dog there who loved his walks and was waiting for me for us to head out and walk and play ball, it became our thing that we still do to this day. If you don’t think you have the time for something like this ask yourself this, what do I do for an hour a day that I could replace? For me it was drinking, I would drink for hours, 6 plus probably depending on when I passed out. So I had the time, lots of it really, 6 hours is a long time and you can do a lot during that time.
Now I’m not going to sit here and write how easy it is, because it isn’t. The best things in life are the things you have to work for, it will mean something to you. I look at my dog sitting by my feet as I write this and value the bond that we have, he is my life saver as without him I’m not sure I could have done it. I swore when I got him that he would never see my drunk, and he never has.
What is it for you? An animal? A child? A lover? A friend? A book? It really doesn’t what it is, but choose something and replace the negative action you took with whatever the ‘thing’ is. And continue to do it, have the mindset of that no matter what, you are going to replace the negative habit and turn that time in to something positive and life changing. To this day I still walk my dog (now dogs), they are older and don’t need to be walked as much, or at least they can’t, but it is the habit that I have formed. When I walk my dogs I am at my most peaceful as I remember what I use to do when I wasn’t walking my dog.
And for me that is where my fitness journey started. A simple walk, then it became a hike, then it turned into a new challenge, HIIT training, the weight lifting. And now fitness is a big part of my life, the main part in fact.
The mind is a powerful tool, if we can just learn how to use it to better our lives and those around us then equality in life and quality of life would become a much healthier balance. Hunger, crime, hate…these things would all disappear. But we can’t change the world, we can change our world though.
That was how it started for me. Today I have developed a fitness habit where I work out daily and have got myself into incredible shape compared to where I was. It all started on a cool Friday night after work walking my young puppy. We formed a bond that is one of the most precious thing to me today. But it started with something so simple that I could easily accomplish. And it built from there and I looked for new challengers in the fitness sphere to be today a fitness business owner and someone who helps people achieve things they didn’t think were possible.
I still have negative addiction issues and I work hard at them, but I do so much good for myself now that I can carry those other addictions knowing that I will overcome them when I am ready to. My will power, of which I never really knew I had, today is my strongest muscle. When I decide on something I get it done, be it lift 300 pounds on a deadlift or not have that energy drink my mind tells me I need.
How? You start with something simple and you build from there. For me, it takes 60 days to build a strong habit. Experts will tell you it takes from 20-30 days, I know for that is not true, I keep at for a full 60 days and by the end of that time I have the control, and control is important when you use it in a positive way.
Addictions aren’t always a bad thing, how control them is key. A fitness addiction for example is not a bad thing, it can be taken to far, but I much prefer to use my addictive personality to do good things. By doing so I am bettering myself and mentally healing myself by removing the negative and turning that time into something positive. Try it, be strong and commit to something that you want. You will know what that is when you are ready.
Rob McQueen is a lifestyle coach who guides you through the weight loss process with guided trainings, nutrition understanding, and keeping you on track to maintain your results. He teaches from experience, he has lived it and experienced what he coaches. Visit us today on Facebook or contact us today to see how we can help you.