Soft Addictions
What’s Preventing you From Getting More Time, Money, Energy, Love, and Satisfaction?
Soft Addictions are those seemingly harmless habits like over-shopping, overeating, watching too much TV, endlessly surfing the internet, procrastinating—that actually keep us from the life we want. They cost us money, rob us of time, numb us from our feelings, mute our consciousness, and drain our energy. And we all have them.
- Judith Wright, author of The Soft Addiction Solution
Have you ever wondered how you might carve more meaning and purpose out of your crowded days? The answer is simple: cut out the "soft addictions." As Judith Wright reveals in this revised and expanded edition of her classic self-help book There Must Be More Than This, many of us are addicted to seemingly harmless and socially sanctioned habits such as shopping, watching TV, and gossiping-robbing us of our time, clouding our clarity of mind, and masking our deeper longing for lasting joy.
According to Wright, soft addictions are seductive because they satisfy powerful desires-and we easily become hooked because they are perceived as "normal" behavior, behavior that doesn't seem to demand the extraordinary measures of a drug or alcohol addiction. Yet soft addictions do call out for action and in this groundbreaking book, Judith Wright explains why they are so damaging and outlines an effective plan for overcoming these negative habits to discover more passion, love, commitment, and meaning in our lives.
I Kicked Letterman Out and Got My Husband Back
My husband and I used to be addicted to late night TV; we watched from our bed every night until we finally fell asleep. After learning about soft addictions we discovered that we really weren’t getting entertained. We were just watching TV to avoid talking to each other. So, we got rid of the bedroom…
How Coffee Kept Me from a Great Vacation
Every year, friends were planning vacations. I never understood why I didn’t have money saved up for one. Then I started adding up my gourmet coffee consumption. I discovered the cost of my coffee breaks ($4/day) was the equivalent of a nice annual break, about $1,500. It wasn’t easy to give up the lattes, but…
Charge! The Search for the Perfect Pair of Jeans
I’m on the eternal search for the perfect pair of jeans – the kind that make me seem 10 pounds lighter. While I haven’t found them yet, I usually leave the mall with lots of other stuff that I sneak into the closet so my husband doesn’t notice. Looking at my clothes I have to…
How I Closed My Catalogs and Opened Up My Life
It used to be that I would spend hours poring over catalogs when I walked in the door after work. The next day I would complain about how little time I had to spend doing the things I really wanted to do. I realized that I was wasting time but I couldn’t stop the compulsion…
A Bigger Life for Less of Me
I’ve dabbled in just about every diet program around, and I’m still fat. After I attended the Soft Addictions training, I realized that my struggle isn’t really about food – it’s about me, what I really want, and how I’m substituting food for more meaningful things. At the training, I decided to lose one pound…
Reality Show or Real-Life: How I Started Living Life Instead of Watching It
I used to tell myself that I was not one of those people who spend their free time watching TV. I was busy working a demanding job as the Director of Product Development in an educational publishing company. I loved my job – it was fast-paced, challenging, and creative, but after working long hours, I…
Leaving the Past for the Challenges of Today
I’m a stacker. I stack my mail, my homework, my bills, my clothes, my pictures, my magazines. I think that I’m being sensible when I delay throwing things out. Maybe I’ll need it someday – the perfect gift from a catalog, or a coupon, or a Christmas card from a neighbor. The funny thing is,…