3Aisha and the Wave of Impulse

In a bustling city, Aisha was an ordinary woman with an unusual problem: impulse buying. Whenever she entered a shop or opened a shopping app, it was as if her card leapt out of her wallet. And the ease of one-tap buying only made the temptation stronger.

One sunny day she went to a large shopping mall and saw, in a shop window, an elegant dress in striking colours with a beautiful design. Her heart raced, and she imagined how she would look in it.

“An urge is just a feeling, not a command.”

Then she remembered a technique she had recently learned called “taming the urge”. She took a deep breath and admitted to herself that she felt a strong urge to buy. She didn’t try to push the feeling away; she simply noticed it: her racing heart, the excitement inside her, the thoughts telling her she needed this dress. Then she reminded herself:

The urge is natural. Everyone feels the temptation to buy things they may not need.

Some discomfort is natural. It doesn’t need to be changed or suppressed.

An urge is a feeling, not a command. Wanting something doesn’t mean you have to buy it.

The urge is temporary. Like every feeling, it will pass with time.

So she decided to wait an hour: to walk around the mall, have a cold drink, then think again. In the café she remembered her wardrobe full of dresses, including beautiful ones she had never worn, and remembered her bank account and her debts, which would only grow.

An hour later she went back to the shop, looked at the dress, and realised it was beautiful but she didn’t need it. The urge that had been a raging wave was now a gentle breeze. She smiled, proud of herself.

Over time Aisha learned to tame her urge in the face of every temptation, from expensive meals to clothes she didn’t need. Her bills shrank, her savings grew, and most importantly, she felt she was in charge of her money and her decisions.