Brian B The demon tells you to wait until a specific time for a variety of reasons 2017 or 2018

I posted this as a response to a post. I know this is selfish, but I post pretty much everything over 150 words here so I can find it later if I want:

The demon tells you to wait until a specific time for a variety of reasons. All of them perfectly logical and all of them equally fallacious.

When we wait for something it imbues an aura of significance to an event that it would not otherwise possess.

My father used to have a series of tests to prove to himself he wasn't an alcoholic. He would never drink before noon...EVER. But he would sit there with one in his hand waiting for the clock to tick over. He would never buy beer until all the other bills were paid...never mind that he had four children and an obligation to provide a future for them. THIS week's bills were paid so...ya know. He would never drive unless he passed a dexterity test that he had created for himself. It was a very, VERY difficult test that nobody else could do sober, but he practiced it drunk for 40 years. He would take four quarters and place them in a line on the back of his hand so that they were all touching. He would then throw them into the air and catch them, one at a time (overhanded...using gravity was cheating) before they hit the ground. He could do this all day long, flawlessly, with either hand. I practiced for years and only ever managed three consistently and only with my dominant hand. There were other little rules, but I won't bore you. The point is the mind of an addict is an amazing thing.

One might think my father was an ignorant redneck and a man of intelligence would not fall prey to such obvious ploys. My father was an engineer and managed a team responsible for developing some of America's most sophisticated implements of defense. He was a genius intellect and likely only ever walked into one room in his life where he wasn't the smartest man in the room. He was in attendance the day Carl Sagan presented his mathematical proof at Harvard that we are not alone in this universe.

When we tell ourselves that we will wait for a certain milestone before engaging in a behavior, we have generated a false metamorphosis. We have turned the behavior from something vile and worthy of eradication into an obstacle to be navigated. Humans are hard-wired to enjoy obstacles. We are hard-wired to enjoy rewards more. Observe what has happened here carefully, the addict mind has turned poison...actual poison that is killing you, into an exercise that will leave you with feelings of success (YAY! I made it until such and such!) and turned the actual poison into the reward for negotiating the false obstacle. You are now waiting with anticipation for the moment you can declare a small victory over the poison so you can reward yourself by...taking the poison. Following me? Pretty cool, huh? The human brain is a b!7(#.

I hope that looking at it through the lens of clarity with the omnipotent disinfectant of the illuminating truth can serve as some comfort while fighting this fight. It isn't an easy one, but it is imperative that you define your objectives clearly. Is your goal to quit, or to establish a system of artificial goalposts which not only condones the abuse, but celebrates it? If we are to win the war, we must understand the enemy. We must deprive him of sustenance and we must expose him for the abomination he is. There can be no quarter.

It is dark right now. You are alone and afraid. The monster is whispering to you that it is futile to attempt escape. I promise you now that dawn is coming, if only you find the resolve to wait for it. You are not alone. We are here, with you, in the dark. We hear the whispers and we know the loneliness, but we have seen the light of dawn and it is glorious. When the Sun rises Saturday, you will stand among us and declare your freedom. I know this because you have unmasked your demon and to look him in the eye and deny him is to defeat him.

P.S. Yes...I am waxing a tad melodramatic this morning. Family stuff.