There are many sad stories of people getting addicted to substances and food that seem to take over their lives. Of course, these addictions result in negative consequences for the sufferer. I have been blessed with not being stuck in these kinds of vices that often; however, when I was a teenager, I had trouble stopping smoking, and I have also been known to have a sweet tooth that involved eating full packets of cookies.
Today I would like to go over a definition of addiction and how I am attempting to use the evil powers of addiction for good. According to a peer-reviewed literature search, the following elements of addiction have been confirmed: 1) engagement in the behavior to achieve appetitive effects. 2) Preoccupation with the behavior, 3) temporary satiation, 4) loss of control, and 5) suffering negative consequences. When you break down the elements of the definition, it does not sound that bad in the case that you are addicted to something constructive. It is the loss of control and the suffering of negative consequences part that needs to be adjusted.
Let’s think about a favourite sport of mine, running. I would say that if I regularly ran, I developed an appetite for it, which if done enough, can force me to be preoccupied with it. I think that this sounds quite normal and many people, once getting into a running routine, would feel this way. Once more running is put into the mix, you can get into the feeling that you cannot get enough; therefore you achieve only temporary satiation. Once you get to the point of trying hard to make that satiation more than just temporary, you will end up running too much and may end up overexercising and forgetting to pay attention to the people around you, which can be a negative consequence.
So let’s see if we can tweak our habits to increase positive addiction behaviour in order to motivate someone to do something. Take something out of a habit or behaviour that you like the best. For me, running has many enjoyable elements to it provided that I am strong enough and have enough energy. But if I could pick an activity that I enjoy from running it would be sprinting. This is a short activity that can be done over and over again. I think I get a buzz out of it and it builds strength, form and power for all aspects of my running. Best of all, I could say that it is addictive. It helps me to become motivated in running and can lead to addiction once controlled so that there is no loss of control or negative consequences. If the amount of running is planned before hand, I will not over-do it.
I feel that the act of sprinting creates a sense of euphoria synonymous with addiction. It is like having a whiskey shot, eating a chocolate cake, or gorging on pizza, but with positive consequences.
I think that the principles of addiction can be used in many ways once we use our creative minds. You could use it in reading, see if you can recall what you have read by talking to a friend about your book. You could compare details with someone who has read the same book. You could also challenge yourself to read a page at a fast speed. Or even trying to read more pages of the book daily.
I challenge you to create your own positive addictive behaviour. See what you can come up with and let me know how you went in the comments.
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Considering the Definition of addiciton
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3210595/
