Are you someone who can stick to a healthy program all day long only to undo your hard work by overeating at night?  Do you indulge in unhealthy activities as a way of comforting yourself?  Do you have difficulty balancing your health program… being good for a few days but then falling off the wagon?

Healthy people reward themselves in healthy ways.  If you keep sabotaging yourself through unhealthy rewards, it’s time to make a positive change.

Begin by setting aside a few minutes of “me time” every day where you can just sit quietly and breathe (and write in your journal).   Use this time to strengthen your commitment to healthy living.  Select some healthy rewards to develop.  Some ideas include:

• Reading a book

• Focusing on a meditation

• Listening to music (perhaps with scented candles burning)

• Dancing or playing a sport you love

• Doing puzzles or computer activities for a preset amount of time

• Taking a luxurious, aromatic bath or shower

• Getting a massage or backrub

• Treating yourself to a spa service such as a facial or manicure

• Enjoying a cup of tea or coffee

• Cuddling with a significant other, child, pet or stuffed animal

• Talking to a friend

• Working on a hobby or craft project

• Stopping to look at nature and appreciating the beautiful and complex world we live in

Think of healthy rewards that, when repeated over time, can give you comfort and satisfaction.  It takes repetition and conscious effort to build new habits.

Commit to practicing those rewards enough times that you look forward to them because they are familiar, comfortable and they make you feel refreshed and rewarded.

Yours in positive change,