I Know Why It's So Hard to Quit an Addiction

The answer is easy really. BECAUSE IT'S HARD! Oh, I know there are other issues involved but I really believe that the main reason is because it's difficult. Most people don't want to tackle things these days if there might be too much effort involved. But if we don't do the things that are hard where does that leave us? Just to do the easy things?

Is it because we live in a quick-fix society now? It used to not be that way. We used to have to work for things we wanted. I don't really ever want to DO the difficult things but I want the reward of doing the hard thing so I do it. Then after I achieve the thing I want I usually don't remember much about all the effort it took to get to the end. At least it's not an issue anymore because I'm focused on the outcome---the reward.

Something to think about.....

My First Radio Interview about My Book

Last night I was on Esme Murphy's radio show in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I've never done a live radio show before. It started @ 8:05 California time and only lasted until 8:30 pm which was long enough since it was just baking in my home. At 8:00 pm it was 90 degrees! And I had to turn all the fans off so there wouldn't be any background noise.

I was asked by Esme Murphy questions about my addictions and how I quit each addiction. When I told her about quitting drinking and what happened the night before leading up to how I ultimately quit drinking forever, she commented "you had an epiphany it sounds like." Yes, that is what it was I believe. Being a spiritual woman for so many years I have come to know that when you bring God into situations anything can happen. This is a good thing but it can make things difficult to explain, because these types of situations can't be placed in a box like so many others. But that makes life interesting too.

I got a phone call from my editor Gail a few minutes after the interview was over and she said she heard the interview and that I did a good job. She has some tips to go over with me before my next interview.

I'm so glad I got the chance to do the interview. When I was on hold waiting for Esme Murphy I realized my heart wasn't going fast and I wasn't nervous. I don't know if that's good or bad. Just an observation.

I Went to the Book Expo a Few Weeks Ago

I was signing galleys of my book which will be out in September. It was my first time attending a book expo and I had a great time. I spoke to a lot of people who wanted one of my galleys. Before I starting signing the galleys I was sure alcohol would be the addiction that most people would be having the most problem with. I was wrong. Candy bars and junk food were the biggest problems, followed by smoking. I think only one man said he had an alcohol problem.

I was so amazed how open people were with me, discussing their addictions. Later in the day I was speaking with a beautiful woman, around 30 years old, who told me in her family they didn't discuss the familys' alcohol problems (and apparently many people in her extended family were alcoholics) because it caused too many problems. She said she was taught "we don't talk about these things." She asked me what she should do.

I told her if that were my situation I would continue bringing the issue up every so often. But that's me. I don't like to live a lie and ignoring the problem doesn't solve it.

I Was Watching Oprah Yesterday...

and Oprah and her friend and diet doctor "Dr. Bob" went to Mississippi. Apparently, there are more fat people in that state than any other in this country. There was a segment where Oprah sat in a room with 5 fat people, 2 extemely obese. Oprah asked the woman who weighed over 500 pounds "do you know how you got to be this heavy?"

She said of course she did. She took care of everyone else before herself. She decided from now on she has to take care of herself first. She said it again in a different way.....something to the extent of "I will be taking care of ME now."

I admire her that she wanted to lose weight...she said it was for her kids so that they wouldn't have a fat mother. Great! But I just wonder if she's on this weight loss journey and focusing in on herself day in and day out....will she get the results she wants. I agree it's important to decide to lose weight as in the example of this woman. But I don't agree that you need to think about yourself all the time. I think it's more useful to get your mind OFF yourself and concentrate on worthwhile things.

Then there was a man whose top weight was 770 pounds. He said he ate about 10,000 calories a day in the past. Now he was eating moderately and exercising 5 times a week at the gym. Good for him. He's lost 150 pounds so far. He knew people were staring at him in public and at the gym but he had a goal.

I was very inspired by his story.

A Life of Clarity....and Coffee

I'm addicted to coffee. When I gave up cigarettes 7.5 years ago I "rewarded" myself with having some coffee in the afternoon. I always have coffee first thing in the morning but now I was drinking coffee twice a day. I told myself this would just be until I knew I wouldn't be smoking anymore.

Well, I still drink coffee twice a day and I love it. I hear it staves off Alzheimer's. I doubt I'll ever give it up. I like it. It's healthy I believe. It's natural. Yes, I drink too much. But I'm OK with that.

I think about the days when I drank heavily and I wasn't thinking clearly for long periods of time. My judgments were off and I made bad decisions.....my mind was fuzzy a lot from the alcohol. When I quit drinking it took several months for me to be able to think straight. I couldn't concentrate. It was strange. I wasn't expecting that because I was only 31 years old and I wondered why I wasn't thinking clearly immediately after quitting drinking. But I was abusing my body and mind for 12 years and it took time to heal.

But now I live with clarity. I can face life even when it gets tough..and it DOES get tough! When life gets tough I can look forward to my coffee.....

This Woman Was Staring at My Cart.....

at Trader Joes to see what I was buying. I looked away as I noticed her out of the corner of my eye seemingly looking at every item I had in my cart. I didn't want to embarass her by having me be looking at her when she was finished looking over the contents in my cart. I wonder what she was thinking. Was she thinking anything?

This woman was heavy. Actually she was fat. I looked in her cart to see what she was buying. I guess I was curious. Junk food galore. I felt compassion for this woman. She was buying all this crappy food to most likely feed some emotions she has, and wasn't even aware of. It's not about the hunger when you're fat and continuously eat junk food.

I would have liked to have shared my story with her but I kept quiet. She probably wouldn't have appreciated it anyhow.