Probably all of us have experienced this situation…you’re forced into doing something you absolutely don’t want to do, but then after it’s over you’re glad you did it. Husbands seem to do this a lot – they often have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into some activity or event, only to discover they actually had a good time!
This was definitely the case for me when I went to the doctor about a health concern, and she told me I needed to give up caffeine. In the scheme of things that sounds fairly minor, but at the time I was absolutely stunned! I could not fathom how I could possibly stay awake all day at work without my mug of coffee in the morning and my Diet Coke in the afternoon.
One of first thoughts was, “OH NO! Chocolate has caffeine in it, too!” Quickly my brain rationalized that maybe if I bit the bullet and gave up all caffeinated drinks then I could still have chocolate every once in a while.
After a few moments of panic, I made up my mind to take her advice. Not being one to transition well, I decided to skip my usual Diet Coke that afternoon and simply gave up caffeine cold turkey.
My husband decided to quit caffeine right along with me, and we both had roughly the same experience. For the first couple of months after quitting, we were both incredibly tired and sleepy. Afternoon naps became highly desirable and sometimes unavoidable. But after a while we found that our bodies adjusted to not having caffeine.
It was then that I made an amazing discovery – I found that I was actually less tired now than when I was drinking caffeine every day. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that I would be able to make it through the afternoon without caffeine and without feeling sleepy! My energy level was now even throughout the day, and it felt great!
After being forced into giving up caffeine, I realized I was so happy to be free of that bad habit! I was now relieved of all the many nuisances and worries involved with being addicted to caffeine, such as:
- I no longer worried about whether coffee would be available at some conference or meeting I was attending
- I no longer felt compelled to drink coffee in the summer when a hot drink actually did not sound very appealing
- Urgent bathroom breaks were no longer an issue
- On future trips to Europe, I would not be forced to pay exorbitant prices for a bottle of warm Coke just to get my caffeine fix!
I would probably still be indulging a serious caffeine habit today if I had not been practically forced into giving it up all those years ago. Examples like this are a good reminder of how often in life things that appear to be bad actually turn out to be good.
So the next time you are faced with something you don’t want to do, consider the possibility that it could actually turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you!
Karen Wheeler Hall is the author of The Mental Diet Pyramid® – A Simplified System to Beat Stress and Live in Joy, Illumination – Inspiring Stories about Finding the Silver Lining, and co-author of 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, vol. 3.
