and I’m not talking about the obvious. I’m talking about the less obvious that you still find yourself compelled to do and not stop even if they impact your health, relationships, work and/or other aspects of your life negatively (in the opinion of others anyway)?

Perhaps it’s time to face my own addictions I don’t know but the last week has been full of people who seem to be addicted to something that is impacting their ability to have the life they want. Here’s a sample:

• I exchanged emails with an ex colleague yesterday who had been so addicted, my words not his, to driving fast that he’d been banned twice and was in danger of killing himself if he continued.
• A friend can’t leave the house without a coffee and has used words such as "it helps me cope with the day" even though she knows that it impacts her health in other less positive ways.
• Someone tweeted from their bed last night before they went to sleep and then again as they woke this morning.
• I’m seriously thinking of deleting solitaire off my iPhone because once I start I can’t stop "just one more".

and more generally what about:

• The frequency we check our emails, twitter, blog etc
• The burning desire to hoover the house or clean the car 🙂
• The many hours we watch TV
• etc etc

These behaviours provide us with something that we want – pleasure. Which in it self isn’t a bad thing until we realise:

• that over time what provides us with that pleasure has diminished and therefore we need to do more in order to get the same level of pleasure, or
• it’s become such a habit that it no longer provides us with pleasure but we still keep doing it, or
• we’ve started to believe we can’t survive without it.

What prompted this blog was the fast driving ex colleague who had found a way around his addiction by buying a vintage car that keeps his speed well below the limits.

Which had me thinking about my ‘addictions’ and what I believe they give me and how I may get that in more positive ways. I’ll let you know how I get on.

But then I’m addicted to constantly finding things to resolve! and sharing them in the blog too 🙂

PS and having sat at my PC since early this am I realise I also find it easy to be addicted to constant doing and the adrenaline rush that provides!