A Different Kind of Gift

Sometimes all I can do is shake my head at the things I read.  I don't know if that's because I'm a bit older than I used to be (as opposed to being old, of course!) or if I just view life through a different filter these days.

I read a short article about an upscale London department store that launched a new gift card with the slogan, "The Gift of Self-Indulgence."  Signs, slogans and name tags were posted throughout the store to call attention to the campaign.  Sales of the gift cards far exceeded the store's expectations.

I shook my head when I read this because, in my humble estimation, we tend to spend a lot more time on self-indulgence than we do on self-control and perfecting the art of delayed gratification.  I may just be talking to myself here, but part of the reason I ended up weighing 268 pounds was because I bought into the idea of instant gratification/self-indulgence.  Hard day at work?  Well, I DESERVED to eat something sweet.  Kids making me crazy?  Get them in bed and then reward myself that I didn't strangle the darlings - I DESERVED it! 

It was always about living in the moment, "rewarding" myself on the spot for surviving another day, and the reward was usually food.  Self-indulgence was something I mastered.

The problem was that it didn't make me happy, and the resulting obesity damaged my health and threatened my longevity.  The self-indulgence was always, always quickly replaced with self-loathing and self-recrimination.  I was so focused on the immediate "reward" that I never stopped to think about a greater reward - a thin, healthy body.  I wanted it, of course, but I was so busy "rewarding" myself day after day that being thin and healthy was an elusive dream.  We view self-indulgence as a gift we give ourselves, but often it's quite the opposite.

It wasn't until after I started on Take Shape for Life/Medifast that I began to really view self-control and delayed gratification as an entirely different kind of gift that I could give to myself.  It didn't have the immediate gratification I had become accustomed to, but that instant buzz was replaced by something far more powerful - the satisfaction of knowing I was doing something good for my body.  The instant gratification I'd experienced before paled in comparison to the joy of anticipation of knowing that I would finally reach my goal.  Reaching my goal on May 22, 2008 was worth everything - and more.

So today I am encouraging you to give yourself a gift that will keep on giving, not only to you, but to everyone who cares about you - the gift of a healthy body.  Getting there will require you to step away from the cultural pull towards self-indulgence, but the rewards will be more than worth it.   You will unwrap this gift one day, one meal, and one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)