When I step back and look at the big picture, I feel extremely fortunate. This is because I am truly happy with my life. Despite the fact that everything in my life has been going really well lately, I don't want to stop trying to make my life even better, or rather, healthier.
Our lives are made up of many small moments - many of these, seemingly meaningless - but they're not meaningless at all. You may think "just one more" of something won't be harmless or make a difference, but that's not true. One more cigarette, one more kiss, one more dollar, one more minute, it's just one more, but it still has the ability to cross the line and put you in dangerous territory.
Like I said, our lives are made up of smaller moments and pieces of our daily lives. Nearly all of us are guilty of indulging in "one more" of something that's slowly killing us and nearly all of us are guilty of thinking we won't be the next person to fall victim to a bad habit.
Unfortunately, sometimes, that's exactly what happens.
Yes, my life is amazing overall, but there are those moments when I am guilty of all these thoughts, too. However, I don't want bad habits to hold me back in life.
My boyfriend goes to the gym pretty often, and when I asked him how he finds the motivation he said, "It takes six months to form a habit." In this instance, I'm referring to a good habit, but the same is true for bad habits. Every day that you indulge in a guilty pleasure or behavior, you're putting yourself on the wrong track. As cliche as it is, of course it's okay to do these things in moderation, but doing so every day will prohibit you from your goals: quitting, losing weight, saving money, whatever your goal(s) may be.
When I'm walking against the wind, trudging back from class in Pennsylvania's November weather, there's nothing I want more than a hot drink from Starbucks or Dunkin'.
A lot of the time, I cave in, but not as much as I used to. It didn't seem so bad to stop at one of these coffee shops every day, but after a while, I realized how unhealthy some of the drinks were. I also realized that my wallet was getting extremely thin.
So, I cut back.
Deciding if I was going to order coffee, and deciding what kind, seemed like such insignificant choices in my day, but they weren't. They're not insignificant if they're happening nearly every day.
In one of my human development and family studies classes, we learned about a phenomenon called the "personal fable." The personal fable occurs when people, typically adolescents, engage in certain behaviors and believe that they won't fall victim to any bad consequences. They don't think bad things will happen to them. It's scary, but we've all been in that position before, especially when it comes to forming bad habits.
With all this being said, don't deprive yourself of the things you love! It's okay to treat yourself, but remember that the little choices you make may not be so little after all. They could prevent you from being your best self.
Don't let a bad habit inhibit your chances of being the best version of yourself...
