Why do you refuse to stop?

Very interesting question. Like your smoking, I regularly have a glass of red wine in the evening. But I sometimes drink one or two more drinks than I should. I like the feeling, at least until the next morning. I don’t stop because it’s a relatively harmless indulgence. People who have a drink or two a day tend to outlive teetotalers and lushes alike. But I wish I had more discipline. I sometimes push what I know are the proper limits, and wake up with a mild hangover.

My current excuse is freewill doesn’t exist.

I should retire from my job. I’m old. I should step aside and let some young eager professional have a chance to excel. I’m bored with it. I don’t need the money. I don’t need the stress. I don’t aggravation. I don’t need the long commutes through brutal traffic.

I have a thankless and often gut wrenching job that I’ve been doing for over 35 years. Why don’t I stop? Maybe I’m afraid of retirement and also losing a sense of my identity. My job is part of who I am. Oh well maybe next year. HA!

I smoke . I don’t like it anymore, but as I go through menopause, my daughter starts puberty. For all aforementioned females to continue living, I must not quit at this time.

I find reasons (many legitimate) to justify failing to follow through on completing frustrating and intimidating things I know I really need to do but that merely thinking about causes me too much stress.

I need to stop sitting in my chair all day every day and get out for my daily walk. My doctor suggests that if I expect to live to be 100 + I need to walk at least a mile a day.

Because there is no reason to stop.

Because it’s hard. People tend to do what’ easy. Healthy people die, nonsmokers get cancer, may as well be happy.

Proud and happy to say I cold-turkey-broke both my smoking and nail biting habits 40 years ago, but one habit I can’t seem to curb is too much TV watching. Damn that 55” Panasonic!

I can’t help laughing at the way deaf people talk, sorry, but that’s just the way it is.

Because stopping is not comfortable.

Stopping any habit like smoking or drinking or overeating carries the burden of taking a long hard look at what our motivation behind the habit is. And that is an uncomfortable action.

I faced that when I stopped drinking a long time ago. Again when I quit smoking. And this year I have had to re-process a lot of denied emotional stuff as part of a major weight loss and lifestyle change. It finally etched a point where I either had to deal with the issues or I was going to die slowly from heart disease and weight related issues.

Instead of waisting effort upon trying to stop bad habits, I’ll concentrate more on starting good habits. The bad ones seem to fall away effortlessly then, like acid rain off a ducks back.

Heh….this last 18 months of extreme stress and change for me has brought up ALL the bad habits full force. Smoking again, have gained weight, having a few drinks.
I’m a smart woman and I know my hedonistic side ramps up during times of stress.

I have been taking better care of myself the last few weeks, but I am experiencing the worst year of my life. Lost my home, work I loved, my savings, beloved pets, and trying to find the strength and motivation to keep plugging along at 54 with a very bleak future on the horizon, well….what can I say?
Quite frankly I don’t give a damn, I can’t afford to live to 60, let alone 100. lol

I need to stop procrastinating…which I’m doing right now, naturally. I also need to stop beating myself up about procrastinating. Looks like I need to buy two self-help books. I’ll get to that… ~

overeating and being a slug (sleeping too much and sitting on my ass in front of the computer most of the day).

I know why I do both of them. I know the issues behind them. The first is mostly comfort, the second is mostly escapism.

Knowing the problems have always been the easy part for me. Talking about them and processing them too. But taking my comforts away to actually feel them full force is what stops me.

Eating desserts. I know why I do it, but if I stop I have to find some other way to comfort myself and I’ve never found a non-destructive way to do that.

Looks like most of our troubles revolve around comfort zones… Is there a way to break the cycle?

Because I haven’t been served papers from a judge yet.

@DWW25921 I guess find healthy ways to comfort ourselves. But I sure haven’t found any that work as good as the “bad for you” ones.

Sort of like my random alcohol cravings lately…

Smoking. It’s a bad habit but I’m not addicted, I know I could stop if I wanted to- I just don’t want to. There are times when I go all day without having a cigarette.

I have made up a set of goals for myself and I will follow up step by step until I see real progress. This is not a New Years resolution! This is a lifetime commitment to do and be a better man and father.