Retrospective Lily

I consider myself to have an addictive personality.

I like a hot cup of coffee every morning (preferably caramel-flavored, with a medium amount of creamer – and always made at home because I’m selectively stingy, so I scoff at the principle of paying $5-10 for one drink). I’m not an official collector of anything, but I have too many books, movies, clothes, and houseplants. And I’ve had a fraught relationship with shopping over the years. Although I was raised to be frugal – and I rarely purchase anything at the full retail price – I am still greedy and impulsive within those parameters. I fill up my literal or virtual cart with stuff that’s “on sale,” insisting I’m saving money, but I’m still buying things I don’t need.

[Also, yes…I gave into the current Labubu craze. That should make my point in case the paragraph above didn’t.]

But an addictive personality isn’t ALWAYS bad…if applied in a healthy way. Maybe “addiction” can be reframed as “ambition.” One thing about people like us: we are committed to our cause. Here’s a few things I WANT to be addicted to:

• Prayer (instead of overthinking – only one of those brings peace)
• Exercise and/or outdoor strolls (instead of sitting around feeling lazy and lethargic – I’m happier when I get moving)
• Writing and/or other art forms (instead of online shopping – creating vs. consuming)
• Reading (instead of aimlessly scrolling – a better use of my time and mental energy!)

I will earnestly try to do more of these four activities in the coming weeks and see how it affects me emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Do you also have an addictive personality? If you were to make an “addiction swap,” what would it be?