Soft addictions either habits, obsessive behaviors, or recurring moods or negative thought patterns. Their essential defining quality is that they gratify a surface want but disregard the deeper need. They numb us to feelings and spiritual awareness by substituting a superficial high, or a sense of activity, for genuine feeling of accomplishment. Many soft addictions involve basic behaviors such as eating, reading, and sleeping. They turn into soft addictions once we go overboard with them and when they are used for more than their intended purpose. Soft addictions are charming in their softness. E-mailing, shopping, and talking on the phone appear to be perfectly harmless, enjoyable activities while we're engaged in them. If we open our eyes to see how much time and energy we dedicate to them, however, we can understand how they hurt the quality of our lives. You need to remember that there are an infinite assortment of soft addictions. Though a universal soft addiction may be television watching, a personal soft addiction may be sketching geometric figures or counting items for no reason. A number of individuals have a difficult time distinguishing an infrequent behavior or fleeting mood from a soft addiction. Is watching TV for an hour a day a harmless habit, while if you watching it for three hours per day (the national average), is it a soft addiction? Keep the following in mind: The motivation for and the function of your behavior decide whether or not it's a soft addiction. For example, TV can be a window to view new worlds -- or it can be used to escape this world. There is a lady who's extremely selective in what she watches. She uses TV as a tool to gain knowledge about foreign cultures and to better understand the behavior of animals. A different lady vegetates on the couch in front of the TV every day. She leads a tough, hectic work life, and she mistakenly thinks that watching TV all night will relieve her stress. Rarely does she have a particular program she desires to watch or a real cause for watching it. As you contrast these two TV viewers, the dissimilarities in motivation and function are clear. The first woman's motivation is to learn; the second woman's motivation is to turn her brain off. Do not allow soft addictions to control your life.
JUDITH WRIGHT is hailed as a world-class coach, inspirational speaker, best-selling author, and corporate consultant. She is cofounder of the <a href="http://www.wrightexcellence.com/wright-institute-for-lifelong-learning/" style="text-decoration:underline;">Wright Institute for Lifelong Learning</a>. See her press release her book, "<a href="http://www.judithwright.com/pdfs/media-one-decision-press-release.pdf" style="text-decoration:underline;">One Decision</a>".
Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ArticlePros.com and/or its partners.
