Ever want something or think you want something, give it to yourself and shortly after realize you didn't really want it that bad after all? That you could have made due without, but fell victim to that overwhelming greedy "want it gotta have it right now" syndrome.
It's called wanting what you don't want. And it can be applied to just about anything from a pizza to a relationship.
It reminds me of those Cold Stone Creamery cups where you must decide your level of self-indulgence. They offer 3 portions sizes - Like It, Love It, Gotta Have It. I always imagine a fat little kid's face pressed up against the glass, wide-eyed and salivating over the countless sugary choices. They all look so delicious! How could one ever decide?
That's exactly what I feel like. A kid in a
Don't get confused. That's just an example. And this post isn't about casual sex. It's about the abundance of decisions we are faced with everyday in our lives! It's enough to make anyone's eyes glaze over like a fat little kid in an ice-cream shop.
People talk about not acting on things quickly enough. But think about all the things you acted too quickly on! If you had just allowed yourself to want it a bit longer. Admired it. Pined for it. Thought it through. If you had just delayed instant gratification for the soul purpose of mastering a beautiful quality known as patience, just think of how differently things could be right now.
Then there are the times that despite not being impulsive or greedy, your interest simply fades.
And you can't quite figure out if you truly no longer want it, or if you just gave up on wanting it so bad that you subconsciously fooled yourself into believing you no longer want it.
Because it's easier to say "I no longer want this" than to say "I gave up on wanting it."
7 comments:
I really loved this post David. I wish I had waited longer before marrying my ex-husband. I guess that is why they say hindsight is 20/20. I made myself believe I was in love with him, when in reality I was just listening to my biological clock as it was hammering away telling me time was running out to have children. Well, it turned out I couldn't have children anyway (long story) and I ended up wasting almost ten years with a man who never cared about me. Anyway, enough about me, just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your post.
It is hard to decide what we truly want in a society that demands we should have it now. Hello debt crisis.
I've started to become one of those people that goes around the supermarket randomly taking stuff out of their trolley and putting it on the nearest shelf because by the time I have moved 3 aisles over I have realised that I didn't really want that product, I had just been convinced by the promotion/hunger pang.
In a supermarket it is much easier to put stuff back or just stop wanting something. I guess I never viewed it as giving up on wanting something..just something influencing my original wants.
I tell myself I want a tattoo yet I can never find a design I want for long enough to scar my body with. Maybe this philosophy could be applied to life? Is something worth the risk?
If we're talking about something more substantial than food cravings then most of the time the answer is yes. Sometimes we have to get something we think we want to know that it wasn't what we wanted. After all, regrets are usually the things we decided not to do
If you had just delayed instant gratification for the soul purpose of mastering a beautiful quality known as patience, just think of how differently things could be right now.
I appreciate this quote.
Patience is a virtue.
And we want things bad not knowing how they really taste or act.
I'm an instant-gratification kind of girl, but over the years I've learned that a wait, whether its 5 minutes or 5 months, is always a good thing. The wait lets me see if my interest was truly there or not...now if I could only get better about enacting the wait period!
I think we are all frightened that if we wait we won't get it..... but once we have it, it just loses its attraction.
Love this, have always been in that situation. Its all about choice isn't it? Choosing to make the right, thought through or just simplest choice. At the moment, I can't figure whether my impulsive action recently has helped me or or created another problem quite like the one I was trying to get out of. This isn't 20/20 its more like a bit of both. I'm glad and not so glad it happened.
You win some, you lose some, you benefit from both... but ultimately, you made the choice. Am convinced though that whether it be impulsive or not, the first thing you should think is "will I regret it?".
Damn that ice-cream looks orgasmically delicious.
Thanks as always David.
I'm just catching up on my subscriptions, hence my late response...
I am SO going through this situation right now (even right down to the Coldstone Creamery analogy...I got a like it, just for the record). As much as I try to convince myself I want this particular thing, every opportunity I get to have it, I let it go. I guess I don't really want it :/
I'm curious as to what inspired you on this one.
Anyway, great post! Keep 'em comin'!
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