“Just One More … “

I have said this about potato chips, alcohol, and online games …

Just spent the first 50 minutes of my work week saying “Just one more …” as I gazed at mesmerizing screens like the one you see above.

The thing about saying “Just one more” is that we seldom use this as a stand-alone phrase, as in “Just one more …” and then we actually stop.   We tend to use this as part of a series:  “Just one more … Just one more… Just one more … “ and so on and so forth.

Some mistaken beliefs we affirm to ourselves by saying “Just one more” to something that uses our time, talents, and treasure:

We are in control of our behavior and can stop when we want to.

We could resist the temptation, but choose not to do so.

We are just relaxing, not wasting time or avoiding something else.

We are not overly influenced by sounds, sensations, or even a pleasant or rousing “Congratulations” at the end.

Now these are not all or nothing beliefs.

We could stop playing if the house were on fire or someone knocked on our door … probably.

We do exert choice in how we spend our time and sometimes the choice to waste time is both deliberate and helpful as we manage our stress.

We are usually aware of the influence of visual and auditory stimulation on our emotions and can cognitively adjust for undue influence.

The real questions for the day are these:

What are you saying “Just one more” to that you should not do or should do less?

What would you gain by saying “Enough” or “Not today” to something that tends to suck up your time, talents, and treasure?

How can you change to a more productive stance, while still keeping the balance?

As is often the case, the questions I pose to you are the one I need most to consider myself.

BTW:  I completed that last game in under 2 minutes:).

Enjoying being able to squeeze some learning from my time-wasting in the Heartland ….

John