Urge Surfing

At some point each one of us will have to deal with some type of cravings. These cravings can range from overeating to alcohol abuse, to gambling, to shopping. No matter what you believe, everyone deals with some type of cravings that they must master. Only by exercising self control can an individual achieve success in all aspects of life. Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl wrote, "Between stimulus and response, there's a space, and in that space is our power to choose our response, and in our response lies our growth and freedom." As obvious as it may sound, the only difference between someone without self control in a specific area of their life and someone with total control, is that the person that exhibits self control has exercised self control. (You may need to read that line again). Exercising self control is no different than exercising a muscle; the more you do it the stronger it becomes. Marathon runners can run marathons because they have worked at running marathons, likewise a person that can turn down every sugary sweet can do so because they have worked on not eating that type of food.

Focusing on thoughts and feelings that lead to succumbing to cravings can help a person overcome them. Alan Marlatt, director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington says, "When there's a fork in the road, and a craving is pulling you one way, what's the other way? You have to look down the other road and see where it takes you. Then, you have a choice, instead of being on autopilot." One way to resist cravings is by using a tactic known as "urge surfing". Marlatt compares cravings to waves - they rise to a peak, and then they fall. Most people feel like their cravings will escalate endlessly until they give in, however, the crash of the "craving wave" will happen whether you give into the urge or not. In actuality, giving in to cravings only reinforces them, while resisting reinforces resistance. Marlatt suggests watching your urge, noting its peak, and "surfing" it, rather than allowing it to wipe you out.

To learn more about Urge Surfing click here:
http://www.mindfulness.org.au/URGE%20SURFING.htm#TheTechniqueofUrgeSurfing