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Break free from addiction – Live A Great Life Podcast by Dr Prem – Chapter. 38

Break free from addiction - Live A Great Life Podcast by Dr Prem – Chapter. 38


Here is a quote – Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism.

—CG Jung

Anyone who accepts and appreciates life as it is – sans any regrets and prejudices – is sure to get the better of everything that comes their way. However, sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally, some of us allow our love for life to become an addiction. When our successes, relationships, and material belongings start entering our head, we find it difficult to normalize our senses.

Actually, anyone who has an addiction to life unknowingly invites egoistic, acquisitive and inflexible ideas to become a part of their persona. Living in an imaginary world of the excessive love of the self and feeling a sort of pride about one’s own existence, such individuals need to think about the practical aspect of their thoughts and actions. If their addiction to life is making them egoistic, narcissistic, conservative or haughty, they seriously need help to come out of it.

Well, I never relate an addiction to life to something degenerative; instead, what I suggest is we put certain checks on this practice if it becomes obvious to others. A person who cannot control his excessive love or addiction to life is a prisoner to his own thoughts, which surely requires correction.

Egoism and narcissism call for rectification

Some people love to live in an imaginary world where what they like is always right. Actually, by living in such a utopia, they make themselves victims of their worst enemy, that is, the ego, which, undeniably, is one of the worst addictions of life. What they actually do is that they make the smallest word in the dictionary, ‘I’, the biggest in their vocabulary, which eventually makes them apathetic and uncaring toward others’ sentiments and feelings. They just can’t leave the ‘I’ and let it go.

The ego, at times, turns into narcissism, which can be extremely irksome to others. A narcissist never wins the confidence of others; instead, their peculiar trait becomes the butt of ridicule when expressed overtly. Egoistic and narcissistic individuals cannot help becoming bossy in their dealings and their demeanor. Here are some suggestions to keep things under check.

Compare yourself with the enormity of the universe

Those addicted to life believe that they are influential, magnetic and just too irresistible to ignore. Never do they try to understand that they are just a tiny speck, an insignificant part of an unfathomable universe. The moment they come to realize that their daily chores and overall existence don’t really compare to the universe, they will understand how wrong their perspective is.

Appreciate others’ help and contribution

There is nothing wrong with appreciating our successes; however, when we downplay the contribution and help of others, differences in relationships begin to gape wider. Our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors contribute to make us what we are. We should be humble enough to appreciate and accept their respective roles in shaping our persona. Our addiction to life, however, keeps us away from such considerations and hence, needs to be corrected as soon as possible.

Accept others’ right to feel special about themselves

Just as you feel special about your existence, allow others to have the same feeling. When we are addicted to life, we have a propensity for placing self-importance above and beyond others’ interests. Our addiction to life shouldn’t come at the expense of others; instead, we would enjoy life even more than we do right now when we have compassion and a sense of companionship.

Everything is impermanent

We invariably allow our ego to manage our thoughts, which makes it difficult for us to think beyond our petty selves. Even when we know that nothing lasts forever, we expect our illusory addiction to stay with us at all times. If we could perceive the inherent impermanence of all things, we would prefer enjoying the journey and accepting it as a transient phase of life.

Don’t fear change

We should respect our unique identity and accordingly, strive to become better with each passing day. We should be open to change to ensure that our addiction to life always remains under check. We ought to think beyond our lives and accordingly, start considering ourselves as the parts of a bigger picture.

When our addiction to life starts belittling others around us or cocoons us from the inside out, we are supposed to break free to see the world as it is. At that point, it’s the time to break out of this addiction to see and live life in a practical way.

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