You got that promotion — let’s go out to eat!!!! When we keep rewarding ourselves with food or desserts when we obtain a goal we may be helping ourselves along the road to obesity.
Let’s face it in our society food is:
Readily available
Tasty
Cheap
Provides immediate gratification
Is a social experience (let’s do lunch?)
Slows us down from our busy lives (it takes time to eat)
But we can’t continue the practice that food is our reward for reaching our goals. Small goals like finishing this article or big goals like getting engaged. If we do this we are turning food into something that it is not supposed to be. Food is to be used as the way to fuel our bodies so that they operate at their optimum capacity.
In order to reverse this adverse thinking lets come up with our own unique list of ways to reward ourselves for successes that have nothing to do with food. Here are some ideas:
Alternative Rewards:
Get a massage.
Have a manicure.
Take a golf lesson.
Purchase a new piece of sports equipment.
Take dance lessons.
Purchase a CD or DVD you’ve been wanting.
Get that new MP3 or the latest tech toy you’ve been craving.
Upgrade your phone or phone plan.
Treat yourself to a movie (and skip the popcorn).
Treat yourself to a play, concert or theater performance.
Purchase monogrammed stationary.
Schedule a weekend trip fishing or how about a spa.
Let yourself sleep in late.
Purchase silk pajamas.
Pay someone else to mow your lawn.
Are you starting to get the idea? You need to make your own list! Keep your rewards affordable so that you don’t fall back on food rewards. You may find that you are starting to reach your goals because you have the rewards right there to keep you motivated. Rewards for success are a good thing. Getting away from food related rewards and we will be on our way to better health.