Step Three: Refocus In the refocus step you buy yourself time. Although the compulsion to open the bag of cookies or turn on the TV or drive to the store or the casino is powerful, its shelf life is not permanent. Being a mind-phantom, it will pass, and you have to give it time to pass. The key principle here, as Dr. Schwartz points out, is this: “It’s not how you feel that counts; it’s what you do.” Rather than engage in the addictive activity, find something else to do. Your initial goal is modest: buy yourself just fifteen minutes.
