No one is watching...

I am by myself at work. There is a big tray of chocolate right across from my desk and absolutely nobody is watching. I could dash over there and have one... or two... of four. Nobody can stop me and nobody would be the wiser.

That ultimately is the problem with will-power. It is a struggle against invisible forces. The only restriction that occurs is the one in my head. I can justify that short walk a million different ways. I know. I have. And I've forgotten the number of times I've broken down and given in to those few steps of invisible restraint. It doesn't make me a better person for going over there, it doesn't make me a worse. It just means that it takes me longer to get to where I want to go. A stumble. A detour around a large rock - a large invisible rock that I just made for myself. My path becomes rockier and rockier the more failures I have. I am being bled to death by paper cuts.

So, no chocolate for me. Not now anyway. My path remains straight, my walk steady. But I see a lot of stumbling blocks in the road ahead. If only I had a lamp to light my way.