How to reward yourself (without using food or alcohol)

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One common way of we reward ourselves is with food:

I’ve spent ages cleaning the kitchen/ doing my tax return/being patient with my mum, so I deserve a little reward. I think I’ll have a bar of chocolate.

Now that I’ve joined the gym, I can have a cake.

This is fine occasionally. If you do it regularly, your weight is likely to increase and your health suffer from these high calorie, unhealthy foods.

Some people reward themselves with alcohol:

I’ve had a hard day at work, so I’ll open a bottle of wine (or two).

My health problems are really getting me down, a large gin will cheer me up.

I’ve finally tidied up the house, so now I can chill out with some beer.

Occasionally this is fine, but it can turn from an occasional thing to a dependence on alcohol.

Rewarding ourselves can be an important part of doing things successfully. It’s good to celebrate achieving goals, and important markers along the way to our biggest goals.

25 ways to reward yourself without using food or alcohol:

1. Listen to the whole of a favourite music album without doing anything else at the same time.

2. Buy some fruit or vegetables that you wouldn’t normally buy because they are too expensive.

3. Buy something small that you’ve always wanted.

4. Relax in the park or at the beach.

5. Visit a local museum or art gallery.

6. See a movie.

7. Meet up with a friend you really like but haven’t seen for a while.

8. Watch a box set.

9. Extra cuddle time with someone you love.

10. Go someplace you’ve never been before.

11. Search for new music.

12. Indulge in a guilty pleasure, such as watching some trashy tv or reading a gossip magazine.

13. Schedule a beauty session.

14. Take time for a hobby.

15. Take a nap.

16. Stay in your pyjamas all day.

17. Have a sauna.

18. Get your groceries delivered rather than going to the shop.

19. Have time without the internet.

20. Go look at the stars.

21. Use a taxi rather than public transport for one of your normal journeys.

22. Have a massage.

23. Play with your neighbour’s dog.

24. Buy yourself some flowers.

25. Add some essential oils to a bath and have a long, leisurely soak.

It’s unlikely that you’ll like all of these. So start with this list but remove some and add other things that will give you a sense of reward.

This is a list for adult rewards. If you have children and you tend to reward them with food, create a list of rewards that you could use instead. Sometimes you could even let the child chose their own reward from the list.

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