Live in the "NOW"

monica1515

While I was letting my deep conditioner sit in my hair in the shower this morning, I thought to myself “Why do we feel we cannot do something nice for ourselves until we reach certain weight loss goals?" I don't think it is necessarily the most positive thing to feel we are not worthy of pampering ourselves until we've lost a certain % of weight, are a certain size, etc. I personally find that doing nice things for myself keep me motivated and feeling good. Women at all ages and sizes deserve to pamper themselves, be beautiful, and feel beautiful. Live life NOW before it passes you by.

What are your thoughts?

daniface

you should get this book, its called -The Power of Now-

tesshaney

I agree!!!!

elainegsd

I completely agree, especially after last week. On November 7th, my 55-year-old cousin died of a heart attack. It was his first heart attack, there were no warning signs. He was waiting to reach a certain goal (working enough years for retirement) to get his reward (retirement), and now he will never enjoy the reward for all his hard work.

Rewarding yourself for losing weight is fine, but you shouldn't be making all the things you enjoy in life contingent on obtaining your goals.

kelsully

I don't do things like get pedicures etc. I don't necessarily feel like I need those things to feel good about myself..if I were to do them and spend the money in a way that seems almost wasteful it would absolutely be a positive reinforcement type of thing or special event. I have to skip haircuts sometimes because money can get tight with 4 kids etc so I am not about to splurge on pampering without good reason.

EDesq

I agree; most people "reward" themselves for losing weight as a psychological inducement to keep it up and/or for reaching a point in their lives physically that has been difficult to get to. Rewards for weight loss is OK in My opinion. However, at some point one comes to the reality that weight loss and maintenance is a part of a Journey, the Journey of WELLNESS or Good Health, and that this Greater Journey is NOT a Destination - it IS Life Long. Once that is realized they begin to enjoy the trip, smelling the roses and looking at the great scenery...in other words giving themselves gifts/blessings because they are enjoying LIFE and they should have been doing that for themselves all along. So, it all is a Process...an Evolutionary Process. It was a loooong time before I stopped having good and bad days based on what the scales said, the scales were controlling My Emotional and Psychological Wellness. Now that I know better, I also have attained the ability to DO better.

monica1515

Obviously people find different things rewarding; they were just examples to get my thoughts across. "Pampering" does not just mean in a materialistic way. I figured it was common knowledge that everyone has different needs and enjoyments.

I enjoy spending some of my money on playing indoor soccer with my old college teammates. I think it's awesome that you find enjoyment in events, etc too, but I also think we should try to be a little more respectful of each other. Some people enjoy spending a little money on pedicures or nails, some enjoy spending it on sports leagues and events ... some people have more money than others ... some people choose to have children, some people don't ... some people are further along in life than others ... I would never deem anyone (especially someone I don’t know) and their decision as "wasteful." I personally feel it is not my place to judge.

monica1515

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. We can all learn something from other's lives. Thoughts and prayers your way!

BoresEasily

I recently rewarded myself with a Gym Boss just for the hell of it and I tend to reward myself weekly with foods I like that are healthy, like a $5 loaf of bread which is nearly completely organic, 99% I think. It makes me feel better knowing that's going into my body and I feel I'm worth it. None of those rewards were weight loss related, just little treats. When I'm able to do a few pull-ups I'll say 5. I'm going to treat myself to a proper chinning bar.

kelsully

enjoy spending some of my money on playing indoor soccer with my old college teammates. I think it's awesome that you find enjoyment in events, etc too, but I also think we should try to be a little more respectful of each other. Some people enjoy spending a little money on pedicures or nails, some enjoy spending it on sports leagues and events ... some people have more money than others ... some people choose to have children, some people don't ... some people are further along in life than others ... I would never deem anyone (especially someone I don’t know) and their decision as "wasteful." I personally feel it is not my place to judge.
Edited by monica1515 on Thu 11/18/10 09:19


was not trying to be disrespectful...my point was that in my current life the things that were mentioned in the OP as pampering yourself would be wasteful in my life UNLESS it were a reward or for a special event. I don't necessarily long for a pedicure...I have friends who get them weekly...are they being wasteful...I don't think so but ...as I don't long for them it would be wasteful for me to "pamper" myself in that way unless I had a good reason...like as a reward or for a special occasion...I was trying to explain why some people set those as goals and rewards and that perhaps people were not waiting on appreciating themselves in the NOW by not doing those things for themselves on a more regular basis. Some people just don't have the means to do those things unless it is for some really big reason. I haven't posted any goals like that in my signature. I actually don't have goals like that...mine are more fitness oriented/races run kind of thing. I felt a twinge of ****ty when I read the OP as if me not doing those things for myself on a regular basis meant I wasn't living in the now or appreciating myself etc. My finances are so freaking tight right now I desperately hope we can get more than one book per kid for Christmas etc...I stepped back and thought to myself the OP wasn't written to tell me what to do or to offend me but maybe the OP didn't realize what a financial burden some of those goals are to the posters and why they might be occassional goals or why people might put them off.