Death by Pizza

True alignment requires being in tune with your breath. Pausing before you reach for the thing that promises comfort. - CG Excellence

Dedication

To my friend and colleague, Terry Thompson, Founder of Blue Jeans and Berries. An experienced nutritionist and wellness coach for over 15-years who has helped countless people transform toxic habits into healthy, life-giving rituals. Terry’s philosophy is simple yet profound: real change begins with awareness, and real nourishment begins with self-respect. Through her gentle wisdom and practical guidance, she reminds us that health is not punishment, it’s peace.

We all have our version of “pizza.” That one thing we reach for when life feels too heavy, too empty, or too uncertain to sit with. It could be the late-night scrolling, the glass of wine, the endless Netflix queue, or the literal pizza, comfort in a box. Warm. Predictable. Rewarding.

In that fleeting moment, it works. The ache softens. The noise fades. The brain gets its hit of dopamine, and we call it relaxing.

Sometimes, comfort is the very thing keeping us stuck, soothing us on the surface, while quietly suffocating our alignment.

Self abandonment happens in slices. Small, seemingly harmless choices.

• One extra slice of pizza.

• One extra glass of wine.

• One extra hour talking about things that drain you.

• One more day ignoring the inner voice asking for rest and clarity.

The Spell

Overeating, over-drinking, over-sharing, or over-extending ourselves are behaviors of anesthetize awareness.

They create a hypnotic dulling of consciousness, a gentle, socially accepted trance that keeps us from what’s real.

The human ego is clever. Its job is to keep us feeling safe, even when the safety is borrowed, fake, or temporary.

What we believe in the moment:

• Everything is fine.

• You deserve this.

• It’s not a big deal.

• You can deal with it later.

Repetition of these behaviors induce a subtle hypnotic state.

A soft sedation.

A muted consciousness.

A gentle fog that keeps you from noticing what’s really going on.

Your mind becomes dulled just enough to avoid discomfort but alert enough to function.

It feels harmless and normal.

Until it doesn’t.

Wake-Up Call

Hypnosis always breaks and consciousness returns.

Once it does, you meet the evidence of every numbing choice:

• The weight gain.

• The exhaustion.

• The hangover.

• The emotional regret from oversharing.

• The self-betrayal from saying yes when you meant no.

• The physical or emotional clutter that accumulated while you weren’t fully present.

The body and your life always tell the truth later, even if the ego felt “safe” in the moment.

You may ask yourself, “how did I get here?”

This is merely a reflection of self-neglect, somewhere along the way, the need for comfort or distraction, overpowered self-care.

Quiet Demise

Death by Pizza is the death of presence and the death of the self you abandon while trying to cope.

The tragedy is not the pizza.

It is the loss of relationship with yourself.

Once you see the pattern, you can’t unsee it and you regain the ability to choose differently.

This is about returning to consciousness, one choice at a time.

Conscious choice breaks the spell.

You are not defined by the slices that brought you here.

You are defined by the moment you decide to come back.

And that moment is always available.

As James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, reminds us,“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” The journey back to presence isn’t about one heroic leap, but about shifting the small, daily choices that shape our lives

Illusion of Comfort

We live in a culture that confuses ease with peace. We’ve been sold the idea that self-care is consumption, that relaxation is distraction, and that numbing is the same as nourishing.

Pizza isn’t the problem. The problem is when the pizza becomes a pattern, a repeated escape hatch from our own truth. 

Each slice, scroll, sip, or “just one more episode” becomes a micro-decision away from the discomfort that could actually deliver us to growth.

We are dying from disconnection, not the pizza.

Toxic Comforts

There’s a full spectrum of these “comfort toxins.”

Physical forms include sugar, alcohol, and processed foods.

Emotionally, they show up as people-pleasing, procrastination, or perfectionism.

Spiritually, they appear as overworking, over-giving, or staying busy to avoid being still.

They all share one thing in common: they sedate our self-awareness. They trick the nervous system into safety while the soul starves for meaning. It’s death by a thousand micro-comforts, quiet, polite, and socially acceptable.

Shift

True alignment requires being in tune with your breath. Pausing before you reach for the thing that promises comfort.

Rest over escape? Movement over sugar? Truth over distraction? Connection over comfort?

When you are present, you choose what actually nourishes you. When you are absent, you consume what numbs you.

Waking up from the spell of unconscious choices can sting. 

For me, it was the awkward walk of shame, carrying my empty pizza box to the community trash, wishing I could toss the regret along with it.

The antidote to self-betrayal is actually these pivoting moments of remorse.

It’s the courage to look at your “pizza moments” as signals, reminders that something inside you is asking for attention, comfort, or care.

When you begin to pause and question your behavior in the moment, you reclaim the rich, raw, beautiful fullness of living.

As one of my favorite writers, Geneen Roth, states “We decide, albeit unconsciously, that the pain of unconsciousness is better than the effort to increase awareness.”

Her words ring true for anyone who’s ever reached for comfort instead of presence. The journey isn’t about fixing yourself through force or willpower. As Geneen also writes: “Freedom from obsession is not about something you do; it’s about knowing who you are and recognizing what sustains you and what exhausts you.”

CG Excellence Reflection

• What is your version of “pizza”?

• When do you tend to reach for it, and what are you really seeking in that moment?

• What would alignment feel and taste like instead?

New Year Contemplation

As we approach a new year, it’s natural to think about resolutions, fresh starts, and the habits we want to leave behind.

Let’s not punish ourselves for old patterns. We are now waking up to endless possibilities, one conscious choice at a time.

Remember this, not only are we what we eat, our behaviors dictate our cravings. Each time we reach for comfort on autopilot, we reinforce the cycle, making it easier to crave the familiar and harder to choose what truly serves us.

Here is a fresh approach to setting an intention for the new year:

• Make presence your only resolution.

• Choose alignment over autopilot, one “pizza moment” at a time.

• Let your cravings become invitations to real nourishment, growth, and self-respect.

Let this be the year you choose to live, fully, intentionally, and awake for yourself.

Living with this mindset, you become a magnet for all that serves the best of you.

The Brilliance Within

If you’re ready to transform comfort habits into life-giving rituals, connect with Terry Thompson for personalized wellness coaching and practical guidance founded on compassion and self-respect.

Explore the CG Excellence Training Library; Weekly Blogs, Training Reflection Videos and Podcasts that spotlight servant leaders, like you. My resources are available 24/7, CG Excellence Training.

Engage with tools that sharpen your voice, deepen your capability, and restore your grounded leadership.

Let CG Excellence support your next evolution, set up a discovery call to explore the portal of all possibilities for you, your team and your organization.

Thank you for your kind attention, today!

It is my hope that this message added value to your life.

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Yours in service,

Christine