I want to share about my soda addiction and the backstory to it. And I want to share my journey to quitting it and how it's been. Now a lot of people may say, "oh, a soda addiction, this isn't as bad as a smoking or drinking addiction." However, any addiction can be as bad as an alcohol or drug addiction if it takes over your life. If it decides to control you and your lifestyle, then it's a bad addiction. I hope my story can help those who may be struggling with SIMILAR addictions such as sugar, junk food, or soda.
So, I want to take you back to my journey. Growing up, I drank soda occasionally. It wasn't a common thing and when my parents let me have soda, it was occasionally at restaurants. But, that rarely happened. In fact, I used to think caffeine was against my religion. I had cousins who drank caffeine and I was always judgmental in my mind and outwardly judgmental to others. It was a toxic mindset, which caused me harm as I viewed others negatively.
I gradually changed my mindset as my parents became more relaxed on me drinking caffeine. Apparently I wasn't allowed to drink it because of my ADD and they didn't want me getting too hyper. From that, I begin drinking caffeine. Now keep in my mind, I had still been drinking soda.
This started a problem. In high school, I would drink it at school events and at home. When I went to Peru, I drank a ton of Inca Kola. The greatest stuff ever. I was obsessed with it. I loved it. I found it at stores in college and would drink a ton. And then I reached college and my soda addiction got worse. I just kept drinking soda. I would go to college events and parties and drink all the soda available there. And I didn't regret it. I realized I had a problem when I was at an end of the semester get together and had probably 4 or 5 cans of soda. At that moment, I knew I need a stop.
So I did. For seven weeks. I had seven weeks until my next semester and I wanted to try and go the whole time without drinking soda. There were many times I could have drank soda. We went on vacation and even then I decided not to drink soda. I remember one particular moment, we went to Burger King (a restaurant I haven't been to in like 3 years), and we got a combo. I still didn't drink the soda. Anyway, I didn't drink soda.
As school was coming up, I started drinking soda again. It became a natural part of my diet. I implemented it again and didn't give it up. For the rest of that semester, I continued to drink soda. In fact, I would have soda almost every night. My friend Val lived at Mountain Lofts and they had a little store in their clubhouse. Val and I would grab sodas there all the time.
School came to an end, I went home, and then my mission happened. Now, when I first entered the mission field in Vegas, soda wasn't a huge part of my diet. However, it was still in my diet. Once again, I didn't think it was a problem.
I want to fast forward to the good stuff. Fast forward to my mission in Salt Lake.
I began drinking a lot of soda in Salt Lake. Mission activities and other events. Whenever I could get my hands on soda, I had it. I wanted it. Each p-day, I swear I would buy a ton. Towards the end of 2018, I ended up buying a 20 pack of soda. Funny story: some lady at the store made a snarky comment to my companion about me drinking caffeine. People need to mind their own dang business.
Quitting soda wasn't easy. But, it was a long time coming. One day, I woke up decided I didn't need it. The first step to doing so, though was to get rid of it. You can't quit something and then continue to have it in your house. I gave all my soda away to other missionaries.
But, that wasn't all. You see, getting rid of the soda was the easy part. All I had to do was hand it out. There really isn't much effort on that part. The hard part was the self control. I had to control my instinct to drink soda. I had to control my desires. I had to control the natural man within me that said to drink soda. However, it ended up getting easier and easier.
After a year and a half, I have almost zero desire for soda. I don't really crave it and I never feel like drinking it. So, how do you go about it doing this?
Well, I don't expect everyone to cold turkey every addiction they have. Yes, that can sometimes be the best thing to do, but it's not always the easiest. Something you must do is get rid of the cause of your addiction. For me, I got rid of the soda in my apartment. It was hard at first, but I was happy to do it.
Then I tried my best to stay away from it. I had countless opportunities to have soda after that. I would be at a restaurant and want to order it. Or I would want to get some at the vending machines in the Family History Library. Or I would want to buy some from the store. But, I refused to do so. I controlled myself.
If you ever find yourself struggling with this then have someone hold you accountable. Find a friend who can keep you in check. This is an important thing to keep in mind. You will probably not be able to accomplish a lot on your own. You need a friend or a loved one who will help you and motivate you to stay strong. This can be your greatest strength. Don't do this alone.
I hope this was of some help. I apologize this is so late and unorganized. I started this two months ago and then rushed through it just right now. I swear my stuff will get back to having quality.
I hope whatever addiction you may have that you're trying to get rid of, that you will be beat it. I hope that you can strengthen yourself and find the courage and strength to get over it. I know that you can. If you ever need help or advice, then please talk to me. All of you are amazing. I love you all!
Michael Skaggs
