We are all human beings. But sometimes, as humans – we make mistakes. Unfortunately, we only seem to focus on our mistakes. Think about it. You have probably spent your life beating yourself up every time you make an unhealthy decision. But when was the last time you praised yourself for making a good one? I bet this process has not been working well for you but I wouldn’t expect it to be. We shouldn’t feel like we need to punish ourselves for making an unhealthy decision in order to change. We all need to be kinder to ourselves and celebrate all our positive choices.
Let’s say a typical day you wake up in the morning and have a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch. Then at the end of the day, you order out for pizza with your family and eat a few slices too many. I bet you would beat yourself up for the poor choice you made at dinner, but don’t even think about the good choices you made earlier in the day because you feel that is what you should be doing. What you don’t realize is the good choices you made should be celebrated as well because that was a deliberate choice on your part. Maybe you did make a poor choice for dinner, but you actively made TWO positive choices for breakfast and lunch and never praised yourself for it.
It is actually more remarkable when you make good decisions because your brain is more programmed towards making unhealthy decisions. So, you need to give yourself credit when you make a good one, even when you feel that is just how you are supposed to be. Especially during this difficult time of social distancing and quarantine, perhaps you haven’t eaten as well as you usually do or even put on a few pounds. We are all dealing with so much, so it’s even more important to give ourselves a break. Ultimately, being kind to yourself can help you reach your health and wellness goals. It is not always easy, but it certainly won’t harm you and the great thing is that it can impact all aspects of your life. So why not give it a try?
