Filtering out Temptation

I just read and interesting post from Future Now entitled Filtering out Temptation. The premise of the post was the idea of using Augmented Reality to change the temptation in your life (the dessert in your fridge, the cigarettes at the gas station) visually into something else so we are not tempted to engage in those behaviors.


Interesting. Kind of cool. --and scary all at once.

But also -- not a new concept. As Jillian rips through the kitchens of her clients and dumps all the "bad" food into the garbage, she is working on filtering out temptation. When I encourage you to plate your food in the kitchen -- it is to filter out the temptation of picking at the food left on the table when you are actually full.

We don't need technology to do this for us. We are fully capable of changing our environments to support the healthy changes we are trying to make.

My fundamental problem with an artificial solution (like Jillian cleaning out your cupboards) is that you are not choosing to do this for yourself (you know just as much as she does that having 4 bags of different kinds of chips in your house is not a good choice if you like chips!). When Jillian goes home and you go shopping, 9 times out of 10 the chips are back in your basket -- because you haven't changed your habits -- someone else imposed their behaviors on you.

You need to do the work if you want to results -- THAT is reality -- and it doesn't need to be augmented..