The first step in solving your problem is admitting you have a problem.

I mean, I've sort of half-admitted it for a while, danced around the issue, joked about it, tossed it aside. But it's serious business, and something that should be changed. And to change it, you have to throw it out there and publicly, or at least privately, acknowledge it. So here it is:

I'm a breakfast cereal addict.

Many mornings, I get up, eat cereal until I'm full, then eat for about 15 minutes more, and roll out of my chair to start the day. I get indigestion on my morning bike rides, feel awful until about noon, and don't get hungry again until dinner. If I want a snack later, it's cereal again. I justify this to myself by saying how healthy it is. (to be fair, I'm more addicted to healthier cereals. I won't eat, say, Lucky Charms. But granola never stays in the house more than a couple days.) But even so, a lot of a healthy food is unhealthy.

This has been going on for years. I've taken action to stop it once, and succeeded for a while, but then got back into the cereal. Now, I'm back on the wagon.

How to quit? I think I can just do it cold turkey. That's how I did it before. It's easy if there's no cereal in the house. If there is, it's harder, but the fact that I'm declaring this publicly will be good inspiration for me to stay clean.

Why now? Well, I have all this time, you know? I'm sorta trying to tie up every loose end I can so I am as unburdened as possible when I start my new job and life in August. Being free of cereal will help.

Note to anyone with a more typical and harmful addiction: I don't mean to trivialize your addiction in any way. I'm entirely serious here. I have a problem (albeit a small one) and I'm trying to solve it.

Note to anyone with any addiction, serious or not (and think about it; you might have an addiction you don't even realize): if you'd like to quit your addiction along with me, drop me a line. It might be easier for both of us. I can do it. You probably can too!