Monday 5 June 2017

Trigger Words ... BANG!! BANG!!!

Walking casually down the health food aisle in my local supermarket on Saturday, I suddenly found my hand and arm taking on a life of it's own (since my brain didn't necessarily tell it to move) ... and as I watched it reach out and grab the latest famous swiss chocolate block ... "Salted Caramel ... something" ... I also casually read the sign which said "2 for $6.00" ... and my hand automatically moved back and picked up a second block ... and I still wasn't really registering what was happening (believe me!) ... but as my hand was about to drop the two blocks into my trolley ... my brain suddenly kicked into gear with the thought "What the hell are you doing? Why are you putting these blocks of chocolate in your trolley ... you don't need them, this is nonsense ... this is unacceptable and for what ...??" ... and then it hit me ... I had been "shot" by my trigger words ... "Salted Caramel" ... BANG! BANG!! Dead in my transgressions!

Thankfully, I am in a mental space now that I IMMEDIATELY and I mean IMMEDIATELY, without hesitation grabbed the blocks and practically threw them back at the specially set up temporary, cardboard stand with all the latest flavoured blocks on it! The positioning of this stand is undoubtedly strategic and misleading ... I mean ... on the corner of the so-called health aisle next to the bakery and bread section and nowhere near the sweets and chocolate aisle at all!

But for me, the most important thing was recognising that I have "trigger words" and in the past, I would have eaten or tried to eat or chosen to eat anything that is labelled "Salted Caramel"?! I wondered what else triggered me ... ??

Salted Caramel tops my list.

Choc Mint comes in a close second.

Creme Brulee slides into third.

Doughnut eases up to be a cheeky fourth.

Fresh white bread becomes my sly fifth.

Puff Pastry holds the title of naughty sixth.

And I'm sure there are more ... but thankfully, I am no longer a slave to these trigger words and I no longer blindly accept them as being "good reasons" for why I should allow myself to taste, eat, gobble or savour whatever food these flavours and trigger words are attached to!

Power on people ... knowing yourself and being empowered to change your choices is within us all but it does help to shoot the trigger words down before they shoot you down!

Bang! BANG!!