Writing rewards
In the middle of another busy "real" work day, I have promised myself to take the time to jot down a few thoughts in this blog, especially what's been rolling around in my head for days.
I caught myself thinking in terms of rewards. How I reward myself with chocolate primarily and for all the wrong reasons. I had a long day so I can have some chocolate. My day was especially stressful, so I can have some chocolate. I didn't each any (okay, change that to "much") chocolate yesterday so I can have some chocolate. I hiked the mountain, I took a breath.... and you get the general idea. Whatever my rationale at the moment, it always ends with the word chocolate. That has been my reward for doing whatever I do on a daily basis.
And in the words of Oprah Winfrey, one day the light bulb just went off in my head and I had that "Aha" moment. I make no secret of my chocolate addiction but rather than using it as a reward for doing what I should, I have decided to switch it for something with more health benefits and less calories. My new goal is to reward myself with time to write. Instead of reaching for that leftover Halloween candy I'm going to log the minutes and then reward myself with some guilt-free time to focus on my projects.
Ultimately I have a strong suspicion that my life will be fuller and my waistline smaller if I can stick to this plan. A few minutes of time here and there, whether used at the moment I feel a treat is deserved or stored up so I can have thirty of them strung along in a writing frenzy, are a better reward than swallowing that bite-sized chocolate bar. Based on how I understand the brain to function, the more sugar you consume the more it takes to reach the same level of ecstasy so my hope is that I will get the same high from spending my stolen reward moments writing.
Leslie
I caught myself thinking in terms of rewards. How I reward myself with chocolate primarily and for all the wrong reasons. I had a long day so I can have some chocolate. My day was especially stressful, so I can have some chocolate. I didn't each any (okay, change that to "much") chocolate yesterday so I can have some chocolate. I hiked the mountain, I took a breath.... and you get the general idea. Whatever my rationale at the moment, it always ends with the word chocolate. That has been my reward for doing whatever I do on a daily basis.
And in the words of Oprah Winfrey, one day the light bulb just went off in my head and I had that "Aha" moment. I make no secret of my chocolate addiction but rather than using it as a reward for doing what I should, I have decided to switch it for something with more health benefits and less calories. My new goal is to reward myself with time to write. Instead of reaching for that leftover Halloween candy I'm going to log the minutes and then reward myself with some guilt-free time to focus on my projects.
Ultimately I have a strong suspicion that my life will be fuller and my waistline smaller if I can stick to this plan. A few minutes of time here and there, whether used at the moment I feel a treat is deserved or stored up so I can have thirty of them strung along in a writing frenzy, are a better reward than swallowing that bite-sized chocolate bar. Based on how I understand the brain to function, the more sugar you consume the more it takes to reach the same level of ecstasy so my hope is that I will get the same high from spending my stolen reward moments writing.
Leslie
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