Why I Can’t Just Stop
My neglected inner child doesn’t care about my long-term goals
If I know I’m causing harm to myself in the long-term, why can’t I just short-circuit the shame and the guilt by not doing the thing that’s slowly killing my soul in the first place?
I walked past the dessert table, again.
I had been admiring it from across the room all night.
I’d walked through the buffet line and served myself a pile of stuffed shells, garlic bread, roasted broccoli, and bacon-wrapped scallops, only to find the dessert table at the end, taunting me.
It wasn’t yet socially acceptable to take one. People would notice if I did.
I sat at the table and realized I had forgotten to get a napkin. I took the long way back to the front of the line to retrieve one. My mouth watered as I eyed the mini cannoli (my favorite), the cookies & cream cake (also my favorite), the lemon cake (my absolute favorite), and the Italian cookies (which I hate, but which I will eat anyway if they’re on the dessert table).
I don’t need dessert, I decided, turning my eyes away from the sweet pastries. I’m not going to have any. I’ll fill up on…
