De-Addict

De-Addict

Answer these questions honestly:

Do you feel insecure if you don’t have your cellphone next to you?
Do you immediately jump to respond to every ping of the phone?
Does your body crave junk food, incessantly?
Do your ears prick up when you hear a piece of gossip?
Did you spend more than 15 minutes on Facebook, or surf the net today? (All day?)

If you answered yes to any or all the above, then you are an addict.  Admit it!  🙂

We live in a world where almost all of us are addicted to something or other. An addict is not just someone hooked on drugs or cigarettes, but anyone who finds that they are compelled from somewhere within to do something that, in their heart of hearts, they know is not healthy or good for them. Yet they continue to perform the action, perhaps even against their conscious wish.

Something as simple as clinging to our phone, spending hours on Facebook, relishing that bar of chocolate, or shopping ‘till you drop’, may seem innocent and harmless. And of course it is absolutely okay if we have made a conscious choice to do these things. They can enhance our lives, and certainly technology is very useful if used in the right way. However, the litmus test is… did I really CHOOSE to do these things? And, how would I feel if these things were taken away from me?

Ask a drug addict to stop, and it will take him time. Ask someone to stop using their phone for a few days and they will scream and shout! So what is the difference between a drug addict and us? We also get a hit from the next text or call. We get a high from a shopping spree! If we are very dependent on our phones and can’t seem to go anywhere without them, then there seems to be little difference.

The ‘drug’ of whatever kind, gives us the feeling of stepping away from our ‘real’ world for a few minutes or hours. We are able to move away from our problems and issues for a while and drift into another world of fantasy or oblivion. We move away from the now moment. When the power of our ‘drug of choice’ finally wears off, we may be left feeling empty, emotionally depleted, annoyed with ourselves for wasting time, or even guilty or ashamed.

Over time, when we do things against our better judgement, and without making a deliberate choice to do them, it wears away our self-respect, and our ability to make real choices in our lives. It also takes us away from being able to live in the present moment. Which, of course, is the only moment that there is.

The reason we crave for these objects of our addictions is because there is already something missing from inside. We search for connection and communication through the Internet. We pursue intimacy through Facebook. We try to satiate the hunger of the soul by eating and drinking. However, a hole from the inside can only be filled from the inside, not out. We are looking in the wrong places for our satisfaction.

If you are happy being addicted, then fine, it’s your choice. Just be mindful about how you may feel sometime in the future when your ‘drug’ is not available!

But if you are feeling that it is time to de-addict, the key is in really finding your passion and purpose.  Take a really good look at yourself and your life. Discover what really makes you happy and decide what you really want to do in your life. Realise that your potential is so much more than you are living at this present moment, and commit to living it. Create targets, make plans, have goals.

When you really have a burning desire to fulfill your purpose, then you won’t be wasting a minute of your time. People who idle away their time, do not know the value of time. People who get ‘lost’ along the way, did not try to find their purpose in life.

And once you know your purpose and passion, then you will naturally dedicate your valuable time to that that which gives you real satisfaction, and you will not need to be dependent on your addictions. This passion will give you a guilt-free high, and a feeling of a life well spent. There will be no regrets and no going back.

If we need to have an addiction in life, then it should be an addiction to ‘fix’ ourselves! Make the inner self content, and the rest will take care of itself.

It’s Time… to fill the hole in the soul. De-addict from the time-wasting and soul-depleting activities, and fill it with passion and purpose!

© ‘It’s Time…’ by Aruna Ladva, BK Publications London, UK