Intention vs. Accountability
There are things that I intend to do, or not do, but then things fall apart when faced with reality, and I fail on my intention. I have an ongoing issue with my love for potato chips. I do not intend to eat them practically every day. I don’t keep them in the house, usually, because if they are here I will eat them. Especially if they are Salt and Vinegar Kettle Chips, or sometimes, Doritos. So I start out my day just fine, but then I go to the grocery store on my lunch hour, and I get to the check out line, and there they are. Somehow, magically, they end up in my cart. And I’m buying just the little single serving size (because whatever size bag I buy is pretty much a single serving, I’m sorry to say (OK, not a party size, that would take me a couple of days…)), so I’m spending an extra $1.50 – $2.50, when I could buy a big ‘sharing size’ (ha!) for just a bit more. It’s stupid. And I really need to change this behavior. I’m getting older, and my body is no longer thrilled with my junk food proclivities. I mean, it was probably never thrilled with that, but the chickens are coming home to roost a bit more lately. So.
I am trying a very old school solution. I don’t want to give up my daily trips to the grocery store, I enjoy that. Instead, I’m adding a negative to my daily ‘to do’ list. Instead of only listing things I am going to do, I have also listed a thing I am NOT going to do. My list up there shows a pretty productive morning. I did my yoga, took Mulder for his walk, came home, had a meeting for work, took a shower, took him to the vet, did some more work stuff (not really listed), and then eventually went to the grocery store. And because I had ‘no chips or popcorn’ on my list, I didn’t buy any chips! Yay me! I added the popcorn to that item, because I am sometimes known to have popcorn for lunch. That’s OK once in awhile, but I don’t want it to turn into a daily habit and just replace the chip habit.
Today is day 2 of me being accountable to myself and my ‘to do (not do)’ list, and so far, it is going swimmingly.
PS – Mulder’s vet visit today was his first follow up post chemotherapy, and it went swimmingly as well! He is doing GREAT. Fabulous news.
24 Comments
Margaret
So glad about Mulder! That’s excellent news. I share your taste in chips: doritos and thick salt and vinegar, plus crunchy cheetos. However, I don’t go into grocery stores (I do pick up) and can avoid ordering chips–which are my kryptonite.
J
Margaret, doing pickup is a great option, and keeps you from making those impulse buys. I was sorely tempted by the crunchy cheetos today.
Nicole MacPherson
Oh gosh, I can never buy a big bag of chips, because I would eat the entire thing! Like, I don’t want to test myself but if I had a Costco-size bag…it would probably be gone! I love chips!
J
Nicole, me too. Sigh.
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
Hooray for good vet visits!!!! Go Mulder!!!!
It’s such a fine line between zero potato chips and an entire bag of them. I can definitely relate to all sizes being a single serving – or at least something that’s going to get eaten within a day or two. So yes it’s a lot easier to “just say no” at the grocery store.
J
Thanks Beckett! Yes, great news about Mulder. 🙂
And I agree, much easier to not have the chips in the house to begin with.
Elisabeth
I love chips (and other related salty treats) so much!
I will throw my husband under the bus on this one as he tends to be the one to BUY the chips…but then I eat them. Sigh.
I love how you’ve reframed a to-do as a “Not-to-do” – genius!
J
Elisabeth, yes, once they are in the house, I tend to be the one who eats them. That goes for all of the goodies. I need to not have it in the house.
nance
So, so happy about Mulder’s progress. What terrific news! I’m sure you were over the moon when you heard it.
Lay’s Original potato chips are my favourite and used to be my downfall. But at some point, I sort of got over them. I still like them, but we can be in the same house without threat. However, Cheetos is a different story. I had to break up with them completely.
J
Nance, yes, we are over the moon with the good news! Statistics say that it will likely come back at some point, so I don’t know that we will ever truly feel relaxed about it. Frustrating.
Oh, Cheetos. Yeah, I can’t have those around either. I love the idea of being able to coexist with these things, but not sure if it will even happen.
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
That is a great idea to have a “not to do” list to keep yourself from doing things you know you shouldn’t but are tempted to do. My husband is the ultimate moderator so he can have anything in the house and never over-indulges. I do not have that kind of self control. But he does the grocery shopping so I don’t have ultimate control over what comes into our house… So I should probably employ this technique for ice cream. I am terrible at talking myself into having a bowl after a hard day or something like that.
J
There’s something about a bowl of ice cream or a glass of wine or something after a hard day. I don’t want to need something after a hard day, but sometimes it can really help. And sometimes ‘hard day’ gets defined as ‘not perfect’ for me, so a check on a list is helpful.
Ally Bean
I enjoy shopping in the grocery. I am one of the few I guess. I must have pretty good impulse control because I don’t buy the extra yummy stuff. My impulsive purchases are for fresh fruits and vegetables and bakery bread. I’m boring, what can I say?
J
I’m with you on enjoying shopping, though not as much on weekends when it is more crowded. I love fresh fruits and veggies too. I wish I didn’t also love the salty treats!
Ombudsben
Congrats on the “no chips.”
I think it’s the author Ann Beattie who has a character rationalize her way through eating a bag of chips. I remember her last excuse is something like: Well, there are hardly any left. It wouldn’t be worth saving this many, anyway.
Oh, the things we can do, when we put our minds to them.
J
Ben, I could have written that! I’ve also been known to finish off a bottle of wine that way…’well, there’s only one glass left, may as well take care of it…’ Ridiculous.
Suzanne
Yay! So happy to hear Mulder is doing well!
And look at that to-do list with all its completed items! Woo hoo! I love that you are adding “to don’t” items as well. Very smart. I bought a bag of potato chips this week, which was DUMB because all chip bags are single serving bags for me as well. But I haven’t opened the bag yet. Maybe I will do that now…
J
Suzanne, thank you! It is so nice to see Mulder being his old self again, instead of walking around feeling kind of gross.
I love a good ‘to do’ list. I am definitely keeping the ‘No chips’ on my list.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
What a great hack to trick yourself into NOT doing something. isn’t it crazy how our brains are wired? We really want the chips but we really want to cross things of a list more. It is so ridiculous and yet brilliant.
J
Tobia, I KNOW! Ridiculous that the thought of checking that off of my list kept me from buying chips at the store. Hooray!
Stephany
Oh gosh, I LOVE the trick of putting a “not to do” task on your to-do list. I should employ that strategy for myself.
And yay Mulder! What amaazing news!
J
Thanks Stephany! I need the extra accountability I guess. And yes, we are very happy that Mulder is doing so well. What a relief!
Zazzy
Interesting solution! I think your goal was not to buy any chips?? Because then you will eat them (just like me). I might make that goal a little more specific, but since you know what you mean it doesn’t really matter. The thing is, you found a way to make the goal specific to your needs, non-threatening, and doable. Those are hard things. I think I may need to borrow this.
J
Zazzy, yes, exactly. If I don’t buy them, I won’t eat them. Sigh. Last week, I didn’t make any lists, and guess what? I bought (and ate) plenty of chips.