4. When and how has my life been unmanageable?

4. When and how has my life been unmanageable?

Wow - that's 64,000 question isn't it?

Maybe this question should be more - when has it been manageable? It would be a shorter list I think. But that isn't the purpose of the question. It really is about identifying when I felt that I was out of control and how I responded to the condition. Boy this one isn't easy.

Were my eating bouts/binges a response to something that was unmanageable or was it more that because I binged, things were out of control? The age old cause and effect question. I haven't been able to put my finger on that.

Certainly the unmanageable parts of my life have revolved around work more than anytime. Also as my daughter has taken paths that I wish she would avoid, they seem to be things that I can't control.

What is unmanageable? When there is something that you can't control? Or when something that you don't expect occurs and you aren't able to respond appropriately or in a way that would be in your best interest? For me managing my life means limiting things that can have a detrimental impact on your life. I suppose another way to look at that is making choices that are in your best interest - health, wealth and happiness. Its when you don't have a choice and something happens that has a negative impact that things are unmanageable.

In the 7 Habits material it stresses that we don't always have a choice about what happens to us but we always have a choice of how we respond to it. Some would call this being mindful - aware of the stimulus and responding in an appropriate way. So often my response has been to return to the food - the ultimate comfort.