The Behavior Spiral

Consequences are something that we all subconsciously know, but don't really end up paying attention to.

We all know what consequences are, and there are certainly times when we tend to ignore them for one reason or another. This can put us in a pretty difficult situation overall, even though we know better.

I know a few people that are aware of the consequences of the things they do, but they sadly continue to do them. They drink alcohol quite a bit, but know that they are messing up their health in many ways because of it. I also know people that eat all kinds of absolute garbage food, knowing that it fucks their body up and they don't feel good after eating it, yet they continue to do it.

I think the human psychology is quite interesting in this regard, where we know something is really bad for us, but we have all kinds of things that override that and end up making us make these foolish decisions anyways.

I know someone who has some pretty frequent health issues, but a considerable factor in their health is the poor quality food they put into their body. I try not to say it too frequently, but suggesting instead of getting that order of french fries, maybe we should skip that and just get the one thing instead. This returns a fuck-you type of reaction, which is slightly amusing in many ways, because it's like "tell me you're addicted to this garbage without telling me you're addicted." and that is a clear indication of food addiction.

I can certainly sympathize to an extent, but eventually the sympathy ends when it is a repeated pattern and then they turn around and get really upset when something in their health gets fucked up. Often I want to say "I told you so" but I refrain out of being polite.

I am no means a saint in my own vices and issues, but I would like to think that I've got a better handle on it and don't succumb to my vices and desires as often as I would like to, and certainly not as often as I did in the past. These are important steps forward for me, but I know that it's not as easy for everyone because we all have our own challenges and limitations.

The real challenge is trying to get these people to see the issues in what they are doing and try to get them to make adjustments to stop the cycle of bad behavior that leads them to the same issues time and again. I think this is where the most frustration lies; trying to help those who can't help themselves. We end up spending a fair bit of our lives doing this in reality, and I think that's a good thing. We are a social species after all, meaning that we go through these things together.

At some point though, we have to figure out how much more we fight the fight because it costs a lot of resources on all parties when suggestions, advice and warnings get ignored and the poor behavior continues.

What about you, do you have people around you or that you know who have issues with food, substances or other things which they can't fix? Let me know in the comments!