Resisting Sexual TemptationНамуна

Knowing Your Triggers 

There’s an acronym to help people process emotions and make decisions called H.A.L.T. It stands for hungry (or hurting), angry, lonely, tired. The idea behind it is we don’t make good decisions when we are any of these things. Here is a real-life example: I never wake up in the morning and think, I’m going to eat an entire package of Oreos to start my day off right! However, when it’s late at night after a long, stressful day, I want nothing more than to finish things out with some double stuffed comfort food.
 

Part of walking out a lifestyle of healthy sexuality is knowing when you’re weak and how you got there. When you find yourself depressed and tempted to engage in an unhealthy behavior, figure out what happened. For example, you might be thinking, “Oh man, I was feeling great about my life until I watched that TV show with all the steamy romance scenes.” Slip-ups in purity are usually not random. There are patterns we can recognize that get us to a place we don’t want to be. Figure out what sets you off. It might be a certain TV show or movie, type of book, or maybe even just looking at social media late at night. If it’s not good for you, it’s not worth it. Pick another TV show. Turn off your phone after a certain time. Being healthy and happy is worth it.
 

So what about when you do mess up? What about when you find yourself in a weak spot, and you make a mistake? After a mistake we often feel shame, discouragement, or the temptation to distance ourselves from God. Don’t. Invite Him in instead. Say, “God, I messed up. I’m sorry, and I need your help.” Just because you slip up doesn’t mean it’s over. Figure out what led up to it, like we talked about before, and make a change. You’re still in this, you just have to get back up.
 

Today, if you notice yourself down or tempted to reach for something you know is not good for you, retrace your thoughts and figure out how you got there. What was the turning point? What set things off? Start to look for patterns so you know how to cut things off early on instead of letting things escalate.