So General Conference went well, and of course it touched upon stuff that was on my mind. One of the things I feel it touched upon was my eating habits. They are bad habits, addictions, that I do b/c I’ve always done them and they’re comforting to me. Tips were given in regards to addiction (of any kind, but I apply it to where I need it). I don’t need it, and I may not even really want it. It does not satisfy the emotion I want to get from it, it just makes me feel worse, more guilty. I should think of the goals I want to accomplish, and ask Heavenly Father for help, and press forward.
On my way to work today, NPR/VPR had a short segment on Will Power. It talked about the marshmallow test. In this test, 4 year old children were left alone in a room with a treat (a marshmallow or a cookie). They were told that they could either eat the treat while in there alone, or, if they waited for the examiner to come back before eating it, then they could have TWO of the treat.
So what happened? Some kids couldn’t wait a minute, while others lasted 20. So the question was, how did some have strong Will Power then others? For the most part they used two techniques. One the children came up with all on their own. When the craving for the marshmallow got really strong, they would distract themselves: play with their toes, sing a song, make up a game, anything to get their mind off of the marshmallow. Those are some ideas I should try (except the playing with my toes part).
The other technique was given to them by the examiner before he left. This was visualization. To think of the marshmallow in a new way. Instead of seeing a marshmallow, imagine it to be a cotton ball, or a little cloud, and see if that helps to stave off the craving. Sure enough, when kids thought about the marshmallow differently, they were more able to resist it.
So I now have some valuable tools to use in my endeavor. I will think to myself ‘is this item or
amount really necessary?’ ‘do I even really want this?’ ‘Father, I’m trying really hard, but will need Thine help with this one…’. After these thoughts, I shall try to switch my focus (hum a song, think of what I’d like to do instead, etc). I will also try to change the way I think of the item. Instead of seeing a pizza, I will try to picture it as a flat plate full of vegetable oil.
Which it pretty much is.
I don’t want pizza anymore… O.o
On my way to work today, NPR/VPR had a short segment on Will Power. It talked about the marshmallow test. In this test, 4 year old children were left alone in a room with a treat (a marshmallow or a cookie). They were told that they could either eat the treat while in there alone, or, if they waited for the examiner to come back before eating it, then they could have TWO of the treat.
So what happened? Some kids couldn’t wait a minute, while others lasted 20. So the question was, how did some have strong Will Power then others? For the most part they used two techniques. One the children came up with all on their own. When the craving for the marshmallow got really strong, they would distract themselves: play with their toes, sing a song, make up a game, anything to get their mind off of the marshmallow. Those are some ideas I should try (except the playing with my toes part).
The other technique was given to them by the examiner before he left. This was visualization. To think of the marshmallow in a new way. Instead of seeing a marshmallow, imagine it to be a cotton ball, or a little cloud, and see if that helps to stave off the craving. Sure enough, when kids thought about the marshmallow differently, they were more able to resist it.
So I now have some valuable tools to use in my endeavor. I will think to myself ‘is this item or
amount really necessary?’ ‘do I even really want this?’ ‘Father, I’m trying really hard, but will need Thine help with this one…’. After these thoughts, I shall try to switch my focus (hum a song, think of what I’d like to do instead, etc). I will also try to change the way I think of the item. Instead of seeing a pizza, I will try to picture it as a flat plate full of vegetable oil.Which it pretty much is.
I don’t want pizza anymore… O.o
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