The Things We Consume End Up Consuming Us

Throughout my thirty years on this earth, I’ve had just about every bad habit imaginable. I’ve drank too much, struggled with addiction, gambled recklessly and have smoked a pack of cigarettes just about every day since I was 13 years old. While many of those bad habits have had a detrimental effect on my body physically, where I believe they truly hurt and hindered me was mentally. They consumed my thoughts, leaving little energy or brainpower for much else. They’ve consumed my time, money and relationships, along with anything else that got in their way. Eventually it got to a point where they consumed me as a whole, my entire personality and life as I knew it.

Addictions are not limited to drugs, gambling, alcohol or cigarettes. Anything we obsess over has the potential to ruin our lives as we know them, be it porn, clothes, social media or video games. I’ve seen so many people put down one addiction and pick up another. Women who put down drugs and shop irresponsibly hoping that Michael Kors handbag will fill the void. Men who spend hundreds of dollars put aside for rent on a pair of Jordan’s. No amount of material shit will make your life better. Like the late great George Carlin once said “It’s all bullshit and it’s bad for ya”.

I’ve seen people put down drugs and alcohol for good only to spend just as much gambling. We all search for the thing that will make us whole again, failing to realize we were never anything but to begin with. It’s not even the money that matters to most gambling addicts, it’s the chase or the thrill of the win. They may tell you otherwise but so many gamble their winnings back to their bookie or local casino before they even collect or cash out. Their winnings were imaginary and both the casinos and bookies knew it from jump street. The house always wins.

The fact there is entire rehabilitation wings dedicated to porn both perplexes and intrigues me. In fact, any non chemical addiction fascinates me. I say all of this without judgement, I get it. I have no right to judge another for their shortcomings or how they choose to sin. I enjoy Pornhub from time to time as much as your next guy (or lady), it just baffles me it has the ability to consume people and ruin lives. It speaks to just how powerful our minds are. Our thoughts become our realities. Thoughts are profoundly powerful because wherever we go, there they are.

The flip side to that coin though however is, although we may not be able to stop our thoughts from wandering, we are always in full control of where we allow them to roam. It certainly doesn’t always feel that way but I promise you, nothing is stopping you from cutting an ugly thought off short. Of replacing the bad ones with new and positive ones. Our minds are designed to work for us but can just as easily be the strongest force working against us if we’re not careful. Our biggest liability can become our greatest asset.

We’ve all heard the old saying “You are what you eat”. The same goes for our minds as does our bodies. What we put into it is what we get out of it. The thoughts we allow to enter and reside within us dictate how we see ourselves and the world around us. So choose what you consume — both mentally and physically carefully. For these are the things that end up consuming us.

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