Responsibilty and Actions

This is just to pour my thoughts onto a page, read it if and comment if you'd like.

 My friends Robin is definetly my "enabler" I quit drinking and haven't touched alcohol for months with the exception of one night with him, and today, he owed me a little money and instead of just paying me back just wanted to take me to lunch.

 I accepted, and we went out, which I hate doing, because I hate eating out. We went to a mexican place, and it was the usual gambit of chips and salsa on the table, a bunch of oil soaked dishes devoid of veggies and nutritional value, and fried ice cream at the end.

Later that day I was cursing Robin for making me go out with him, when I realized, I really didn't have to go, I could of just insisted on the cash, and no one made me eat the chips before the meal, or share the ice cream afterwards.

Too long, I have been blaming people for "enabling" me with poor choices. But today I realized all they are doing is providing me with choices, and I just seem to make the wrong one more often than not.

My friend wanted to take me to lunch, we went out and had a nice time, and afterward I twisted it to seem like he was out to get me and sabatoge my efforts, it's just how my mind twisted it.

I kinda realized this, and hope in the future I can just make better choices and take responsibility for my actions instead of blaming other people because they provided the opportunity to do something like that. 

We're all entirely responsible for our own actions.  Sometimes it's nicer to think that we've been led down a particular path than we've consciously made a bad decision.  But more often than not we've merely seized the opportunity as an excuse to do the thing we wanted to do anyway.   No arm-twisting required :-)

I think it takes a certain self-assurance to stick to your guns in life generally and not follow the herd, indulging every whim.  Taking the right path rather than the easy path is the sign of maturity and wisdom.  Food choices are no different from anything else. 

Yeah,....what she said!   (gi_jane).  Each of us here at CC are fighting our own personal battle, and making sensible choices is probably the first step toward overcoming our temptations.   Good luck!

Sounds like you on getting on the right path just by being able to acknowledge the fact that what you do is ultimately your own responsibility. Just keep that in mind and good luck.

I agree as well.

As long as you keep at it, and commit yourself to more of a  'lifestyle' change (I hate that phrase but it's one of the very few that makes sense to me these days) then it will come more naturally. Which, I suppose is why they call it a lifestyle change. The choices, behaviors, and thinking we had before no longer applies to the lives we have today. In the end, the decisions we make are our own and we face the final outcome, even if we put it in our minds that we were going along with what someone else told us.

But don't dwell on the past my friend. What matters is the choices you make from now on. Most of the time we can't undo the choices we made in the past, but we can learn and we can definitely set ourselves on new paths today.

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost
http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html

It's funny, I have friends who I tend to eat more around, and who I make poor choices when I'm with. I tend to get frustrated with myself for the choices instead though. It's good that you've realised the choice is there to make. I find the hardest thing is remembering to make the right choice, rather than just going along with the wrong one. 

Another alternative next time a friend wants to take you to lunch, is to insist on going somewhere healthy, or with healthy options - that way you still get your lunch and the company, but without the negative health effects.