Is Your Addiction Eating Away At Your Business?

As Americans we love our junk foods. So much so, in fact, that our blind obsession with all things sugary has earned us the title of "World's Most Overweight Nation."

Recently as I was waiting to board a plane, a very pretty woman sat down across the aisle from me in the waiting area. She was twenty-something, fashionably dressed in faded bell bottoms and a pair of well-worn cowboy boots, and had a slender figure.

In her hands was a cup of Edy's ice cream: Vanilla. With chocolate sprinkles. And she was engaging it with the commitment of a chipmunk packing away the last acorn of Autumn.

In this day and age, the consequences of poor dietary choices and bad eating habits are well known. "A moment on your lips," the old saying goes, "A lifetime on your hips." Yet, with spoon after yummy spoonful, this woman seemed oblivious to the long-term effect such indulgences often have.

Don't misunderstand me; I'm not against a treat now and again. And I'm certainly not the health and fitness fanatic my wife would love for me to be. I enjoy a candy bar or chocolate chip cookie or six at least as much as the next guy. But it was obvious watching this young woman devour her cup of ice cream that for her this was more than a passing fancy.

This woman was clearly addicted to sweets.

What about you? Is your business addicted to sweets? Are you, as a professional, addicted to sweets?

What I mean to say is, "Are you engaged in some indulgence or activity that, while thorougly enjoyable today, is gradually eroding your business or professional health?"

We are all suscepible to this. Every one of us has a time-wasting achilles heel; a soft spot or vulnerability that can bring us to our knees and render us ineffective from a time management perspective.

Among other things, I'm a competetive chess player. This means that several times every year I travel to play in weekend-long state or regional tournaments. I absolutely love the game. The history and dynamics of one of the world's oldest strategy games has a positively intoxicating effect on me. At times, with a strong player across the board from me, my heart can get to racing like that of a twelve year old on a sugar high.

But tournament play isn't my problem. I also have an acknowledged weakness for online chess. For me the temptation of always-available chess is a strong one. Sometimes the pull is incredibly strong. If I don't exercise discipline and self-control I can quickly pass a whole day away getting little else accomplished.

So... what's your addiction? And when are you going to belly up and do something about it?

Think it over. There's help out there.