{"id":2179,"date":"2012-06-29T06:52:36","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T10:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifewithhappiness.com\/?p=2179"},"modified":"2018-10-08T16:57:23","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T20:57:23","slug":"what-are-your-addictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2012\/06\/what-are-your-addictions\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Your Addictions?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>To view this article in a 3-minute video format, <\/em><em>visit <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Zn75Lo3wfX4\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/Zn75Lo3wfX4<\/a>. \u00a0<\/em><em>Video run time 3:02.<\/em><\/p>\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left\" align=\"center\"><strong><a title=\"kate nash:nicest thing\" href=\"\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/41754875@N00\/2439677581\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"kate nash:nicest thing\" src=\"\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3232\/2439677581_3a4846e610.jpg\" alt=\"kate nash:nicest thing\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nI recently attended a coach training\/retreat in the Rocky Mountains.<\/strong> To prepare for a week of thin air at 8,700 feet above sea level, my instructors suggested reducing caffeine.\u00a0So I decided, on the spot, to stop drinking coffee.<\/div>\n<p><strong>Four days later, after suffering an endless headache that I was sure signaled a world-class sinus infection, I sat next to a colleague with a steaming cup of Starbucks\u2019 best and\u2026 it hit me.<\/strong>\u00a0I was in caffeine withdrawal.\u00a0That\u2019s how addicted I\u2019d become to coffee!<br \/>\n<strong>And that addiction was invisible to me, until I tried to let it go.<\/strong>\u00a0What else, I wondered, is driving my behavior (which is what addictions do)?<br \/>\n<strong>A week later I was driving up a series of treacherous, ice-covered hairpin turns as I made my way across a mountain range at 12,000 feet.<\/strong>\u00a0I knew that as soon as I crossed the pass, I was going to be off the grid (the technology grid, that is) for a week. Even as my knuckles turned white from fear of falling off the mountain, I noticed a different sort of anxiety screaming for attention.<br \/>\n<strong>Off the grid.<\/strong> No email.\u00a0No web browsing.\u00a0No status updates.\u00a0For a week.\u00a0Yikes!<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cOmigosh,\u201d I groaned in the moment.\u00a0I\u2019m addicted to email!<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>This got me thinking about addictions and the power they have over us.<\/strong> Addictions are those habits you have that often cause you to run on autopilot even when the behavior is not in your best interest.\u00a0For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Eating when you don\u2019t need to eat.<\/li>\n<li>Obsessive email checking, instead of having conversation.<\/li>\n<li>Driving discussions beyond the point of resolution simply because you\u2019re addicted to being right, or to having the last word.<\/li>\n<li>Telling yourself over and again, \u201cYou\u2019ll never be good enough.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Taking class after class, reading book after book, but never having the time to apply and use any of the learning.<\/li>\n<li>Plopping on the couch with the TV remote even as your body screams, \u201cplease, exercise me!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Saying Yes to every request, even when you want to or should say No.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>These are just a few of thousands of examples of behaviors and thinking patterns that can get in the way of living a happier, less-stressed life.<\/strong>\u00a0There\u2019s nothing wrong with habits \u2013 many of your habits sustain you, and allow you to live your life without having to think constantly of the basics (like brushing your teeth, driving your car, dressing yourself, writing memos, interacting with others, etc).<br \/>\n<strong>The question is, are you AWARE of your habits?<\/strong>\u00a0And more importantly, when they don\u2019t serve you, do you realize you have the choice to let them go?\u00a0Do you have power over your addictions, or do they control you?<br \/>\n<strong>Awareness is the first step to letting go of an addiction.<\/strong>\u00a0Next, experiment.\u00a0If one of your habits is not serving you, try this:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><strong>Let it go for just one day or one week.<\/strong> Not forever \u2013 just long enough to notice what happens when you choose differently.\u00a0What shows up in the space when you are not on autopilot?<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2011\/10\/13-principles\/\">Happiness Principle #9<\/a> says, \u201cPay Attention.\u201d<\/strong> So, pay attention to something in a different way, and you\u2019ll open up new territory for happiness, joy, and satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p><strong><small>Photo Credit:\u00a0<a title=\"Lali Masriera\" href=\"\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/41754875@N00\/2439677581\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lali Masriera<\/a>\u00a0via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.compfight.com\/\">Compfight<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The question is, are you AWARE of your habits? And more importantly, when they don\u2019t serve you, do you realize you have the choice to let them go? Do you have power over your addictions, or do they control you? (read more)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,228,47,40],"tags":[290,310,109,380],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Are Your Addictions? - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2012\/06\/what-are-your-addictions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Are Your Addictions? - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The question is, are you AWARE of your habits? 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