Surfing the Urge: How To Overcome Temptations With Mindfulness
Instead of a complicated control centre, use one power button.
The first people to ever deal with a temptation were the biblical Eve, and then Adam.
Instructed by God not to eat fruits from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they tried their best to obey. But precisely because they were told to refrain from picking it, the fruit became ever-more tempting. So tempting that a mere prompt from the serpent was enough for Eve to give in.
This is how I read the story. I always wondered whether the fruit would be equally luring if God simply informed Adam and Eve about the consequences of eating it — instead of banning it altogether.
What’s in it for you?
Most of us instinctively know that the harder we deny ourselves something attractive, the more it usually lures us. The temptation arises when we forbid ourselves a certain activity — but at the same time, we desperately want it.
For example, you may realize that smoking, drinking or eating too much is bad for you in the long run — so you decide to stop. However, as you try to maintain abstinence, you may feel that the more pressure you put on ceasing the unwanted behaviour, the more the temptation to…
