's MOTD 8/31/2006

[Guest guest]

's Daily Message

Thursday

August 31, 2006

AGAIN AND AGAIN

" It`s an uncontrollable impulse to do something and to repeat it again and

again. "

" It`s a completely illogical need to do something that`s not necessarily

going to achieve a positive result. It`s something you do without thinking. "

Today we`re going to talk about being compulsive. Where does this trait come

from? Well, doctors and physicians have been trying to figure this out for

centuries. Some say it was handed down from generation to generation, so

it`s a gene thing. Others think it`s environmental. Gosh, I think it`s a

little bit of both.

Well, no news to you, I am a certified compulsive eater. My parents were

thin, but yet, I was compulsive about many things. The main compulsion was

overeating. I was always thinking about food, no matter what time of the day

it was. I used to think about sandwiches; crisp, hot onion rings; banana

splits with extra cream, cherries, and extra pineapple; and Stover

candies.

Then there were some of my other habits. I was compulsive about opening the

refrigerator. I`m embarrassed to tell you how many times I went in it in one

day. I was compulsive about reading menus in restaurants and memorizing

recipes from my father`s 200 cookbooks.

Oh, there was more, like keeping my room very neat at all times or folding

my clothes precisely. I was also, and still am, a bit compulsive about my

hair! LOL! And one time when I lost a lot of weight, I became a compulsive

shopper and bought clothes that I never even had on my back! I was

compulsive about being on time, especially for all meals. I compulsively

kept my shoes shined, and if I got a stain on my clothes, I would remove

them immediately and put on new ones.

Okay, that`s all the compulsions I`m going to share with you today, but what

about you? Are you compulsive? About what? Oh, I see you don`t want to talk

about it. Well, you know what your compulsions are.

At one point, compulsions were taking over my life. I was literally driving

myself up a wall and taking my friends and family with me!

Here`s what worked for me. I started to question my compulsions. Why was I

overeating? Why was I obsessed with being neat? Why, why, why? When I

started to be compulsive about something, I just stopped whatever I was

doing and simply asked myself why. And if I couldn`t come up with a good

answer, I stopped what I was doing. In other words, I was taking control.

Try this technique yourself and start to enjoy your life more! How many

times have you gone in the fridge in one day?

Love,