http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/temptation Questions tagged with 'temptation' at Ask MetaFilter. Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:32:27 -0800 Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:32:27 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/35415/Why%2Dare%2Dhabits%2Dso%2Dhard%2Dto%2Dbreak%2Deven%2Dfor%2Da%2Dmoment It's one thing to stop smoking, or stop biting your nails, or stop drinking, <em>altogether</em> -- what I want to know is, why is it sometimes so difficult to stop doing a habitual activity <em>even for a few moments</em>, while trying really hard? Today, another person asked MeFi a question about blowing on food to cool it; that reminded me of a day many years ago, when I was eating gazpacho at a restaurant. No matter how much I tried not to, no matter how hard I fought against it, I couldn't keep myself from blowing on the spoonful of (cold) soup before putting it in my mouth. I failed to resist the temptation three spoonfuls out of every four.<br> <br> Similarly, someone I know has an annoying physical habit they do when bored; however, if you call their attention to it, they still can't resist doing it. It's not a tick, or a tremor, or something involuntary -- it's a deliberate physical activity they can't resist the temptation to do, like scratching an itch.<br> <br> Does anyone actually know why these habits are so hard to break, even for a moment, when you're consciously aware you're doing it and actively trying to stop? tag:ask.metafilter.com,2006:site.35415 Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:32:27 -0800 habitual involuntary medical temptation davejay http://ask.metafilter.com/11062/Permanent%2DMarker%2Dis%2DPermanent You know how sometimes that black sharpie and an empty desk seem like a canvas? You know how tempting it is to draw on that work desk? I do. I have bitten into my forbidden fruit and woe is me. "Porthole Multi-Purpose Glass and Surface Cleaner" got it to he point of being faded. A slow Tuesday has elevated me to the gossip of the day after my little cartoon drawings were discovered. The surface is standard office/cubicle fare. The area is perhaps 6"x8". Save me! And no, there is nothing offensive about anything I drew. It was just school margin doodling done without thinking. Now kind of wishing I wrote something like "Fuck You" or a huge penis, as the amount of people who are now waiting for the boss to get back so they can kiss ass is alarming for something that's no that big of a deal. "Why would he draw something in permanent marker... I mean he obviously doesn't think!" I now know why offices are so boring, people, much like children, get alarmed by anything non-beige. tag:ask.metafilter.com,2004:site.11062 Tue, 19 Oct 2004 13:17:16 -0800 behavior graffiti office temptation geoff.