The Office Goodies Shelf

One afternoon a week, I go to work in a cancer support centre. In the main office, next to the printer and franking machine and other bits and bobs there is always an array of sweet goodies; biscuits, cakes, chocolates and occasionally but rarely fruit. In the kitchen, there is a cupboard dedicated to a wide selection of equally sweet offerings that will come out to replace those that get finished up from the shelf in the office. Sometimes, particularly in this hot weather, there is also a box of ice lollies in the freezer. There may well be other stashes of edibles elsewhere.

Occasionally, I will partake of what’s on offer particularly if there is some home-made cake on display. More often than not though I will not. I find it mildly amusing though as a phenomenon. I see one or two of my colleagues struggling to resist the delectations on offer and berating themselves when they have over-indulged. Two of my colleagues in particular are regularly experimenting with some dietary change; juicing, the 5:2 diet and so on and yet hover around the shelf. I think to myself why have those things so readily available and in constant view if the resisting of them is so difficult? Why put yourself through that when they could be out of view?

It seems to be quite common now in offices for such things to be readily available. They are seen as a kind of reward for the hard work that goes on. I once had someone come to see me who was working really hard on her health and fitness but finding it difficult to resist the office goodies shelf. It was through imagery work that she was able to tap into a solution for herself. Given the space, her unconscious mind came up with the approach that was absolutely right for her and not only took away the desire to eat the sweet things on display but also gave her a way of getting away from her desk to give herself a breather from her job when needed. The upshot was that she could bypass the sweets and cakes with ease. Note that the solution came from her. There was no way I would have been able to suggest the idea to her that she came up with and because she came up with it from inside herself, she could act on it.

Ideally, when one has resolved one’s eating issues, choosing to eat something or not eat something feels like a choice that you make. It is possible to see an abundance of tempting eats before you and choose to walk on by, if you want to with no tug-of-war inside. That’s a good place to get to.