"This Time, This Apple" Syndrome

(August 20-31 I'll be blogging my way through I Blame Eve: Freedom from Perfectionism, Control Issues, & the Tendency to Listen to Talking Snakes by Susanna Foth Aughtmon and giving away a copy each week!  You can enter the drawing via the Rafflecopter at the end of each blog post or right here.)

“We flit from one apple to the next trying to get satisfied, and it’s just not working. We want all the things God designed us for––relationships, wholeness, love, community, security, etc.––but we want them on our terms and we want them now….

We let ourselves think that this time this apple is really what we want and what we need.”

Susanna Foth Aughtmon, I Blame Eve:Freedom from Perfectionism, Control Issues, & the Tendency to Listen to Talking Snakes

I know all about “This Time, This Apple” Syndrome.

As in:

• This time, this new dress will change my party anxiety to confidence!

• This time, this new book will transform my marriage from miserable to blissful!

• This time, this new friend will finally be the BFF who banishes my loneliness and brings me fulfillment!

After forty-five years of insanity – you know, doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results? – I’m trying a new strategy.

I’ve started asking myself six clarifying questions to help me make different choices...and get different results! I'll elaborate on the first two today:

(My favorite thing about these six questions?  They're so easy to remember!)

WHY am I doing this now? 

This is a simple motivation question. Often, the answer is quite surface. 

For example, earlier today, I wiped down the kitchen counters thoroughly. 

Had I asked myself, "Why am I doing this now?" my answer would have been, "Because the counters have gotten sticky, and I noticed a few ants moving in!"

Simple question. Simple answer!

However, the simple answer can act as a cover for the true answer, so I need to move on to the second question:

Why AM I doing this now? 

This is a much deeper purpose question. Typically, the answer takes some digging.  

Just a few minutes ago, I realized I was reaching for the chocolate chips. When I asked, "Why am I doing this now?" the simple answer was, "Because chocolate tastes soooo good!"  

But when I asked, "Why am I doing this now?" the more honest reason was, "Because I've been working on grading and lesson plans for two hours and want something to sweeten my bland life." 

With that clarity, I had a choice:  to continue "using" food or to find a different, healthier way to add sweetness to my life. 

“Stop. Don’t eat it. It isn’t the one. No matter how many apples we try, it will never be the one….God is the only One who can satiate the great hunger that seems to be overtaking our lives.”

Your Turn:

• What are some of the "apples" you flit to and from?

• How might your choices (and, thus, results) change if you started asking, "Why AM I doing this?" prior to taking action?

• When you make the choice to stop and not "eat the apple," what Godly alternatives are ready and waiting to take its place?

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