Surviving the Office Halloween Candy Bucket with Chocolate Meditation

Last week one of my worst nightmares came true - someone brought in a large Halloween Bucket filled with various types of candy.  To make it worse, the candy supply was unending.  The bucket was never empty!  Everyday it was filled to the brim with different types of candy - chocolate, gummy, sweet & sour, fruity.

Over the years, I feel that I have developed a pretty strong Will Power.  I have tools in place to help me pass up on temptation - chew gum, drink water, avoid the area of the temptation, surround myself with people who will hold me accountable.  I was prepared for this moment.  And I did a great job . . . until Thursday.

I was unexpectedly going to have to take Friday off so I was feeling crunched to get everything done.  The homecare schedule for the weekend, which I was responsible for, was full of open assignments with a small group of staff available to fill it.  I had a site visit for the Senior Companion Program, which I am in charge of at our Adult Day Center.  Let's stop there and just say that my list of stressors was long.  My chest was tight.  My head was pounding.  I was nearing a complete meltdown.  Mid-morning I walked passed the bucket and found that it was filled with my favorite . . .

 

I grabbed one and shoved it in my mouth.  Mmmmmm . . . it was so good!  So I grabbed another.  And another.  And another.  Every time I walked by I would grab one.  I was still at work long after everyone had left.  I actually took my key and walked to the Bucket's office, unlocked the door and looked to see what was left.  Much to my delight, when I pushed the first layer of candy aside, I uncovered the mother load of Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins!  How had these gone undiscovered?!?  I am embarrassed to say that by the time I took my garbage can and set it outside my office door, it was nearly overflowing with bright orange wrappers.  Seriously Lisa?  Yep - that had just happened.

 

Thursday night I felt sick to my stomach.  Literally from the amount of pumpkins I had consumed.  And figuratively - how I had I let myself get so out of control?  After sending myself on a major guilt trip, I came to two conclusions.

 

First, tomorrow is a new day.  I would do better at making healthy choices than I had today.

 

Second, I would dust off a tool that was buried in the bottom of my Temptation Tool Box.  Chocolate Meditation.  I read about it in an issue of Psychology Today several years ago.  Since then, I've practiced it myself and included it in workshops that I've taught.  How many times, like me on Thursday, have you consumed a piece of candy so quickly that you did not enjoy it and got zero satisfaction out of it?  What a waste!  Chocolate Meditation allows you to take a moment to relax and truly enjoy the experience of eating the chocolate leaving you satisfied instead of craving more.  You should give it a try!





Chocolate Meditation
Choose some chocolate - either a type that you've never tried before or one that you have not eaten recently. It might be dark and flavorsome, organic or fair-trade or, perhaps, cheap and trashy.

Here goes:
• Open the piece of candy keeping it in the wrapper. Inhale the aroma. Let it sweep over you.

• Take the candy out of the wrapper and look at it. Really let your eyes drink in what it looks like, examining every nook and cranny.

• Pop it in your mouth (or take a bite depending on the size). See if it's possible to hold it on your tongue and let it melt, noticing any tendency to suck at it. Chocolate has over 300 different flavors. See if you can sense some of them.

• If you notice your mind wandering while you do this, simply notice where it went, then gently escort it back to the present moment.

• After the chocolate has completely melted, swallow it very slowly and deliberately. Let it trickle down your throat.

• Repeat this with one other piece.

 

Tomorrow is Monday and I am ready to face the day and face the Office Halloween Candy Bucket!  Are you?