The time is ripe to mention a nasty word many don't want to admit to...addiction. It's a nine letter word that can come in many forms from eating(or non-eating), smoking, sexual, or in this case, a caffeine addiction. The words I write here can easily be interchanged and used to help you overcome any addiction.

ADMISSION

This is the easily the first and most important step in kicking any habit of yours. The reason for this is that if you don't admit that there's a problem, you will see nothing wrong in what you do or how you do it. When I was a smoker, lighting up a nice cigar after dinner was as fulfilling and necessary as a plate of breakfast. Even during the winter months when I had a cold, I would still light up no matter how ridiculous it looked to smoke and hack at the same time. Again, there is no problem with what we do until we admit it to ourselves.

LOOK AT THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS

Even once we admit there's a problem, how can we get past the problem if we don't face what's wrong with the problem? For those addicts that have past the point of admission, I urge you to look at the downside of your addiction. How do you like those yellow teeth that caffeine addiction has given you? Have you thought about the thousands of dollar that your vice costs you every year? True, $1.25 or even $4.25 doesn't sound like much, but pull out your calculator and add up your yearly expenditure. I'm a big fan of positive thinking and positivity in general, but this is the one time I want you to be negative. Think hard about all the bad things that your addiction rewards you and you'll begin to see the positive side of getting over it.

BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU

Our connections and alliances are one of the biggest molders of our behavior, and this holds extremely true in the case of addiction. When you're ready to give up your vice, you also need to be ready to let go of some of your "friends". You know the ones that invite you to the strip club, or the ones that want to buy you another drink even though you're already starting to think that Brunnhilde or that Cro-magnon man is starting to look good. These are not your friends! No matter how many times or how passionately you tell these people that you are trying to become a quitter, they will not try to help you acheive your goal. As a matter of fact, they'll do everything they can to tempt you to hold onto your addiction. The only thing to do in this situation is find better friends.

LOOK AT THE POSITIVE RESULTS

If you've gone this far, you're well on your way to complete adaptation. The time is now to look at what happens once you let go of your addiction. If you're an ex-hardcore smoker, you'll find deep breaths to be oh so easy from now on. Now that you're over that sexual addiction, you can put all of your love and attention into your spouse or significant other. No matter what your addiction is or was, you'll find that you now have more energy, more money, and more time to devote to more positive and progessive ventures.

RISE OR FALL

This is the very last step and the step a lot of people don't want to tell you about. The choice now is yours...rise or fall, pass or fail. Getting over an addiction isn't easy, because if it was, plastic surgeons and Phillip Morris would be out of business. This is the step where your mind will play tricks on you. On sober day 15, you may want to go out to the bar and celebrate your sobriety with a drink. It's only one drink and you've done so well to resist the urge so far. The fact is that one drink, one smoke, or even one look is what separates you from getting over your addiction or coming up with excuses as to why it's o.k. for you to fall back into your old habit.