Can “Just This Once” Be Deadly?

How often have you found yourself saying “just this once can’t hurt?” You really want that last piece of cake. If you eat it you won’t have to put it away. The sugar is going to make your inflammation worse, but “just this once” should be OK, right? One little extra piece of cake isn’t going to add five more pounds right?

Or what about the teenage girl who is making out hot and heavy with her boyfriend. He’s pushing for sex. He wants it. She’s never done it before and she wants to wait. She’s not ready for the emotions or the potential life they may create. But he says, “just this once can’t hurt, right?” Of course the first time you can’t get pregnant, right? And there are no emotional repercussions if you only do it once, right?

Driving down the road in a huge hurry, you are almost late for work. The road is clear, with no sign of anyone you can see around. Why should you take time to stop for that stop sign? You’ve never blown through one before. “Just this once” won’t hurt, will it? Nobody will know, right?

Until it does hurt. And it can be the first time. The only time. Or it can become a buildup of “just this once”. Because if you got away with it the first time you will remember that. And since you did get away with it you think, maybe I can get away with it again.

“Just this once” becomes a habit. For me, “just this one” bag of potato chips means never intending to eat another potato chip for a week. But the following day I’m really stressed out. Something has set off my emotions and I’m an emotional eater.

I eat for comfort. And potato chips tend to be my “go to” food when I need a culinary hug. So my intentions were great the day before when I indulged myself in that snack size bag of potato chips. But today I NEED those chips. They are my emotional medication.

So I indulge. I eat a snack sized bag of potato chips again the second day, comforting myself both in eating the chips and telling myself it’s OK, because I won’t eat any more chips for a couple weeks now. Once the satisfaction is there the resolve not to eat them again becomes strong. I can say it because the need, the craving isn’t there anymore.

How many times a day or a week do you find yourself saying or thinking “just this once?” Do you find “just this once” becomes a frequent habit? How many times do we fool ourselves into saying “just this once?” Whether it be a diet, a personal weakness, or a strong temptation, how many times do we find ourselves giving in “just this once?”

I wear a “reminder ring” now. I bought a cheap $10 ring I wear on one finger and it’s sole purpose is to remind me how much I DON’T need potato chips. When the temptation arises, I can choose to rub that ring or roll it around my finger and remind myself of all the reasons why “just this once” is dangerous. I remember why I better not eat those potato chips.

What ways can you employ to help you fight the “just this once” habit?