We are the People of “Mo’ Dat”

We are the People of “Mo’ Dat”

Like the rats in the infinitely cruel “cocaine experiments,” we addicts lack the capacity to delay gratification -When we are active in our addictions.

We are the children in the “Marshmallow Experiment” who immediately gobbled the gooey glob rather than patiently waiting for the opportunity to walk away with two.

They have largely discounted that the results of the Marshmallow Experiment can predict how one fares in life, but one thing is for certain. We addicts have broken gratification delayers. And that opens the door to a world of trouble for us.

We are the people of “mo’ dat,” a phrase my brother in recovery used frequently in his childhood to indicate he wanted MORE. He and I joke that even as adults in recovery from dual addictions, we must remain vigilant and diligent if we don’t want to devolve into “mo’ dat” mode.

I made a decision that I want to be the child who grimaces to refrain from eating the marshmallow rather than the rats who keep pushing the lever for another dose of instant gratification

Though our delayers are broken, we can still delay gratification by other means. And feeling enough pain made me willing to go to any lengths to learn how to do just that.

One day at a time and by God’s grace.