quit eating "brown bananas"

NYTArticle

I thought it interesting that someone has actually done a study on this phenomenon. Essentially “brown bananas” is about not doing the enjoyable thing now.

I found this quote from the above mentioned article especially relevant, “Once you start procrastinating pleasure, it can become a self-perpetuating process if you fixate on some imagined nirvana. The longer you wait to open that prize bottle of wine, the more special the occasion has to be.” They applied the same logic to the use of gift certificates that end up expiring while we wait for the best sale to come along.

I don’t want to be a glutton – I just want to enjoy the comics without feeling like I have to read the rest of the paper first.

I was out for dinner recently and was trying a sampler of different food. I found myself trying a bite of each item and then started saving my favorites for last. I remembered back to this goal and shifted gears – a little bit.
Just funny how some habits are so hard to break.

as it is close to Christmas (even if it is 80 degrees out) I wanted some “Christmas” tea this morning. I had 3 flavored tea bags left. The one I wanted (my favorite of this bunch) was “winter spice.” I debated for several minutes thinking I should save that one for a special time and drink one of the ones I don’t really like because “if I drink the favorite first then I will not have motivation to ever drink the other 2.” I know – really warped logic. Anyway, in the end I did decide to drink “winter spice” because I thought of this goal. Thanks 43T!

It is interesting to me how having this as a goal keeps me more in line with this philosophy. I have not “quit” eating the brown bananas but I am certainly eating fewer of them. I still feel a bit guilty about heading directly to the comics but being aware is the first step. I want to have the mindset that I COULD read the comics first if I want but am instead CHOOSING to read the “news” first. I know that is a silly example of “brown bananas” but it is easy to understand.

I was worried that my tendencies would lead me to doing only the stuff I enjoyed, leaving the daily responsibilities. Surprisingly, that has not happened. When facing a stack of magazines, I feel the liberation to not slog through the ones that don’t interest me. The important but boring things in life are still getting done, I just feel like I am enjoying the fun parts more.

Well, I just got back from a 2200 mile motorcycle ride (in the mountains of GA, NC & TN) and found a whole bunch of “brown bananas” – my newspapers!! It was difficult to just quickly skim the front page and then head straight to the only “good” portion of the paper – the FUNNIES – but I did it.

I decided that I did not have to suffer through the rest of the “news” to get to the section I really wanted.

I once heard someone say that if you only eat the fruit that is about to spoil (so it doesn’t spoil) you will spend your life “eating brown bananas.”