Here we are, facing yet another weekend. Many people tell us that weekends are especially difficult for them. It’s the time when their addictive behaviors often get really out of control.
There are a lot of possible reasons for this — more free time, less structure, deeply entrenched and well–practiced weekend rituals, andENTITLEMENT.
Feelings of entitlement are a particularly dangerous thing for anyone struggling with compulsive behaviors. Entertaining thoughts that for whatever reason we DESERVE to act on our cravings is just a hop, skip and a jump away from an actual relapse. That thinking is guaranteed to take us there just about every time.
Entitlement is our brain‘s way of rationalizing the idea of acting on our cravings. Our brain tells us some variation of “you’ve had such a rough week, that you deserve a little break“; “you’re so stressed, masturbating would help you relax“; or “you’ve been doing so good lately, just this once it wouldn’t hurt. You deserve a reward.“
What your brain forgets to tell you is that you DON”T deserve to feel the pain, the shame, or the anxiety that will always follow.
Stay strong this weekend and if your brain starts to play the entitlement game, RUN to some of the grounding techniques described in the “Using Your Senses” post on this blog. Every time you don’t let entitlement win, you are retraining your brain, just a little.
“… What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” — Mark 7:20-21 (NIV)
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