Almost all of us have things in our life
that we derive pleasure from in excess from the actual benefit they provide to
our lives. Whether it is drinking wine, smoking cigarettes or eating chocolate
there are elements of our life where we would actually like to reduce the
amount of pleasure that we experience from them. By reducing the pleasure that
we associate with these activities you will find it much easier to reduce or
remove them from your life.
You need to identify what benefits or
pleasure you derive from pursuing this activity. You want to take your time
with this activity because you will often find that there are some hidden
benefits that you will discover. To start write down the activity in the middle
of a circle on a piece of paper. From this circle branch off writing down any
benefit or pleasure that you gain from pursuing the activity. Think about these
in the terms of the state that you gain from it. For example if you feel
relaxed as a result of drinking wine then write down the result such as the
feeling of a lack of stress.
For each of these states branch off and
write down the benefits that you gain from being in this state. For example
what are the benefits that you gain from being in a state of relaxation? Once
you have a complete outline of all the pleasurable states and benefits that you
experience as a result of this activity stand back and have a look at what you
have written. This is essentially a map of the pleasure that this activity
provides you.
Next examine these states and see which of
them are the core drivers of the pleasure that you experience as a result of
this activity. Which of these states provide the excessive pleasure that you
are feeling as a result of engaging in this activity? Some of these states will
relate directly to the basic purpose of the activity. Relaxation and loss of
inhibitions might be seen as the core state of drinking wine. However something
such as giving you a way to pass the time is not a core benefit.
Once you have done this you should think of
an unpleasant outcome that will result of you engaging in this activity. If for
example you are drinking excessively you might want to imagine the painful
hangover you will experience. Try to visualise as much as possible the pain of
this experience. When you feel one of the beneficial states starting to creep
into your mind such as the desire to fill your time up instead imagine the
painful state that will occur.
Step outside of your experience and assume
the Metaposition. This is where you are an observer to yourself. Look at all
the pleasurable states that you have written down which derive from this
activity. Acknowledge that all of these states could in fact be felt without
the activity that you are deriving excess pleasure from. Think of ways that you
can experience these states without having to engage in the harmful activity.
If you want to experience the state of relaxation for example you could instead
practice meditation. Find alternatives that will still achieve the same pleasurable
states.
Finally you want to test this out in the
real world. You might want to see if your desire for drinking wine has actually
reduced. If you find that the pleasure that you associate with the activity has
not been reduced sufficiently then you will need to repeat the activity until
you find that you have satisfactorily reduced the pleasure that you experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment