Sweet--And Not So Sweet--Temptation

I walked into work last Wednesday two days into the New Year and a New Year's Resolution. I sat at my desk, fired up my computer, and started going through the backlog of email. After about an hour and a half, one of my coworkers arrived and put out a box of chocolate for folks in the office to share. And where did he put it? On the edge of the cubicle walls between me and another coworker. Not fair!

The following day, someone else brought in a box of chocolate, which got placed on another corner of my cubicle. Sheesh! Fortunately, I made it through the end of the week without eating any chocolate from either box. I have even made it through the first three days of this week without eating any.

Last night my Education for Ministry (EfM) seminar group celebrated my birthday, complete with a birthday cake. I had none, not even a small taste. Not fair!

Ordinarily, this would require only a moderate amount of willpower. The problem is that the stress level throughout the office is high, and climbing higher, because of the ongoing reorganization. It will continue to grow, because we have at least a week and a half before they announce the selections of candidates for positions in the new structure. We all have different ways of dealing with stress, and let's face it, sugar is my drug of choice when it comes to coping. However, I have finally come to terms with the fact that sugar is not my friend. That I have not touched the candy and did not have a piece of cake is therefore a very big deal.

Other unhealthy temptations I am not doing so well avoiding. For instance, I find myself going over to StandFirm on a regular basis and reading posts and comments there. I tell myself that there are a couple of reasonable posters there, or that they are a good source of news about what the so called reasserters are up to. Or I resolve that I will only read the posts and not the comments. As if! And almost every time I go read something there, I come away feeling angry, defensive, and wanting to lash out at them the way they do at others. So why do I go over there and let my buttons get pushed? Maybe it is my drug of choice on the blogosphere. Maybe I need to go cold turkey with it, too...

Peace,
Jeffri