Addiction

ad·dic·tion

   [uh-dik-shuhn] Show IPA

noun

the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically

habit-forming.

According to this definition, I am addicted to spending time on my computer. And as with any addiction, it takes away from other important things in my life. Such as house keeping, spending time with kids, and personal development and spiritual growth.

It came to me last night as I was pondering the disobedience and consistent bad mood of my kids. Kids in India have many more chores and responsibilities, yet they do them without complaining. The only conclusion I can thus come to, is that it's somehow my fault that they haven't learned obedience and content.

In order to somewhat keep the level of my addiction private, I'm not ready to divulge just how much time I spend on average every day. However, I am ready to share my goal as to overcome and/or improve myself. Somewhat like a test. Starting today, I will not get on my computer AT ALL while my kids are home and awake for a week. No more early morning email checks, or afternoon TV show watching. This plan still leaves me with plenty of computer face time. At work I still have nothing to do but sit on the computer, and of course the kids go to bed around 8pm, which leaves me with an additional 2 hours at night. After the first week, I will assess the results and see if occasional email checks won't hinder my other goals.

As with all addiction I anticipate some withdrawal symptoms, but hope the benefits will make the process easier. A clean house, cooked meals, and time spent with kids are enticing benefits!