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Originally Posted by willravel
Let me ask you this: you're slightly overweight, yes? If I asked you to lose the extra pounds and keep them off for the rest of your life, could you? I know your first reaction will be "of course", but really think about it. Can you dedicate yourself to attaining a goal that won't be finished until you die? That's a serious commitment. Can you run or bike or lift weights consistently for your remaining years? Or let me ask you this: what's your favorite soul food? What is the one food that you love, but that doesn't love you back? McDonalds fries? Twinkies? Gum? Beer? Could you give up beer for the rest of your life?
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Well, I don't know because I've not tried, but I don't see why not. My favorite food that doesn't love me back? Probably potato chips. And yeah, I could go without. I usually enjoy "healthier" foods anyhow. I LOVE thai food, and mostly cook it at home. It's easy, cheap and pretty damned healthy. The bulk of my weight is due to lack of exercise, but said lack is 100% my own doing. I have a gym membership, which I underuse greatly. There's a lot of awesome mountain hiking nearby that I've donw, but not with regularity. Why? Well, at the end of the day, I want to go home and see my wife and baby. I don't really care to do much outside of that. I make some dinner, eat with them and watch a bit of TV or play a game before bed. Weekends are much busier, but again I mostly fill that time with less physically active stuff. I could easily blame the heat, but it'd only be an excuse. I'm not HAPPY with my weight, but it's also not so bad that I suffer emotionally from not have a 32" waist. If I got to that point, I'm sure it'd light a fire under my ass. Also, I do what I can to NOT get to that point because I never want to be there.
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Originally Posted by willravel
Maybe my experience with heroin can help. Okay, I am in a waking dream all night, feeling empty and cold. I've been sober a day or two, and it's hurting badly. Imagine a headache with a purpous....driving you to use again. I wake up at 7 am finally, and have some breakfast. My apetite is kinda wierd, so my stomach hurts. All I can think about is how sober I am. I go to work or school and can't concentrate. Every waking moment there is an emptyness that overshadows whatever you think or do. It's not weakness. It's victimization, if anything. I've seen people stronger than I am succumb to addiction. Strength of will really has little to do with it. In my mind, luck and help are what really get you out of the hole. I don't know if I could have gotten out myself. It took the death of my best friend and the help of friends to get me out.
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I still don't understand, but maybe I never will. I disagree, IMHO, that strength doesn't play a big role. To assume "luck" is a key ingredient to beating addiction, and strength is not plays greatly into my above stated theory that it's a crutch or excuse to use until you take responsibility for it yourself. Both my parents were smokers. My mom used to drink a lot and my dad was a raging alcoholic (alcoholism "runs" in my family... *bullshit*) and he ended up dying of a drug and alcohol overdose when I was 16 or 17. I grew up in a lower-middle class, blue collar neighborhood. Despite all of those things, I never smoked or did drugs and only ever drank socially and within a VERY reasonable limit. You'll note my use of quotes above. Can alcoholism really be GENETIC? I dunno, maybe, but the jury is still out on that for me. I didn't WANT to be a drunk that so many of my relatives were. I didn't WANT to stink like cigarettes. That sounds like will to me, not luck. I think letting yourself GET addicted shows that alck of will. Perhaps getting unaddicted takes something more. This is, by no means, a personal attack, either. Just my thoughts on the subject.
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Originally Posted by willravel
Whever I hear people suggest addiction is a lack of self control/willpower or lazyness, I chuckle to myself. It's like having a painting described to you by a blind man. The best explaination of the painting has to come from the artist.
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Sometimes the beggar is wiser than the businessman. The viewer can often give insight to the work that the artist hadn't previously seen.