Grandparents who babysit

Do you babysit for your grandchildren? No doubt it's enjoyable but, if done on a regular basis, the job may take its toll.

Physically, your arthritis may flare up, you may feel too tired to socialize with your friends, and you may postpone important medical appointments.

Emotionally, you may get into conflict with the children's parents over how to deal with them and your relationship may suffer. You may feel overwhelmed by the responsibilites of child-care.

So be prepared to meet the challenges of this job. Do it joyfully, reap its benefits, but be sure that you are not sacrificing too much.

Cognitive Dissonance

Whenever we want to do something that's against our best interests - e.g., eating a piece of cake when we're trying to lose weight - we experience "cognitive dissonance." We're in conflict with ourselves. (See today's Wall St. Journal) The pain of that conflict is so great that we'll immediately reduce it by denial: "I'll eat it today and tomorrow I'll diet," or "it's such a small piece that it won't make a difference."

We're all great at self-delusion. It's a mainstay of the human character. It enables us to hurt ourselves and/or others without feeling guilty about our actions.

Until the moment of truth arrives. The scale shows the pounds, in the same way that the court tells us the crime.

What have you been deluding yourself about? What are you going to do about it?