It’s funny how human behavior sometimes plays out isn’t it? What is it about humans that make us want to exploit a weakness in other people? Recently I participated in a “Fat Bastards” competition to lose weight. I don’t consider myself too far off the mark, but it makes good sense to lose the weight and move closer to an ideal state. I’d be healthier, have more energy, and will probably live longer with a few less pounds around the middle.
Unfortunately because it was a competition, you could not expect support from your fellow competitors. What you could get from them was sabotage. Yup… those unscrupulous bastards had no compunction against using temptation to entice their opponents into putting on weight rather than losing it. There was no team camaraderie. There was no desire to help someone reach their goal and give them the support they needed to succeed. It was every man for himself. Sheesh.
It definitely tested your discipline and strength of willpower. Those who really wanted to drop the pounds did succeed. I managed loose a few pounds and I’ve been able to keep it off, but I didn’t win the competition. I know that I need more discipline and character to truly be successful. I can do it on my own, but I will do much better when I am surrounded by a support network. What makes this kinda funny is the fact that I’ve turned into one of those bastards. *cringe*
One of the girls at work has decided to kick her “energy drink” habit. She’s hooked on Rockstar Burners and wants to cut back on the amount of caffeine she takes in on a daily basis. She has made bold claims about how she has gone cold turkey and is not looking back. Her addiction was pretty strong though, and sometimes she’d have more than one of these things during the day… the can even has a warning on it not to exceed more than one a day. She couldn’t go camping without bringing along a ½ dozen for the couple days. So it was no surprise when one of our other colleagues said… “I’ve got 5 bucks that says she’ll have one before the end of the week”.
Why am I the bastard? Well, I kinda agree with my colleague, I don’t think she will be able to last out the week before succumbing to the cravings. To further my claim, I’ve taken it upon myself to entice her into having a Burner to end the “cold turkey” abandonment of the energy drinks. I’m such a bastard. How can I do this, when she really needs my support and not my counterproductive machinations? I don’t know… but it is kinda fun, and it does stretch my creativity.
I started out by buying her a Rockstar Burner during our afternoon break on Monday and offered it to her. She refused. I then proceeded to tempt her senses. I poured my own beverage into a glass filled with ice. The sounds it makes – fizzing, ice clinking against each other in the glass, and the sound of the container filling up rising in pitch as it nears the top. I displayed what the carbonated beverage would look like sitting on her desk, still fizzing. The site of the frosty glass perspiring from cold liquid inside did nothing to tempt her. Of course I had to “talk up” the Burner, explaining in detail, how good it would feel to drink it, to feel the cold, dark, liquid cool you off as it slips down your throat. I tried to paint a picture of how wonderful it would be to have such a tasty beverage and the small little adrenaline rush she would get from the Burner after she drank it. Still - she resisted! She was going to be one tough little cookie.
I was not to be deterred. I stepped up my campaign. Next I took the rockstar, found a container and filled it with ice, and then nestled the blue can in amongst the cubes, almost like a bottle of wine chilling. The imagery is priceless. Soon the can cooled and droplets of moisture started to condense on the outside. As the cubes melted, the can sank lower into the container, settling in and making the visual even more powerful. And yet…. She still held her ground and kept away from temptation. I think had we started earlier in the day, we might have had an affect, but the day ended too soon and she was out of our realm of influence.
We tried the “ice bucket” scenario again on Tuesday. I think it was starting to make some headway too. I managed to prep it even a little bit earlier and had it cooling just before lunch. All afternoon it had been perched on top of the cubicle wall that separates’ us. She looks up to see her nemesis and the craving builds. For added effect, when I went for break today, I made sure to get a second Burner for her to drink. The down side to that is now she looks at this with renewed determination to hold out. She does not want to be “beaten” by us and our nefarious plans to make her crack. I gently reminded her, that she can easily outlast us… and yet she doesn’t have to beat *us* per se… but she must outlast the Rockstar and her craving for a Burner. Her battle is with the energy drink.
Next we will try a new tactic. Doug (my accomplice) thinks that we can tempt her even more by pouring a Rockstar into a glass. She cannot resist an open container of the sweet nectar! She cannot resist her “precious” lol. It calls her name! I don’t think it will be much longer and she’ll indulge. I am such a Bastard…
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