Rewarding Yourself?

I think ive confused myself on this. So today is my 30th day without a cigarette. I thought i should reward myself with something! So i went out and bought some food i probably shouldnt have. It seems crazy to quit smoking cause its unhealthy so i reward myself with something that is unhealthy. On the other hand if its not something you limit yourself with, is it a reward? I mean i dont want to reward myself with broccoli as then id try to avoid earning anything to reward myself with. So if its something you consider bad it seems counterproductive and yet if its something good then why limit it to a reward. If its good for you, why would it be a reward in the first place.

So what do you do when you do something youre happy with and want to reward yourself? Or do you never reward yourself?

I always have to reward myself... even if it is rewarding myself from unhealthy behaviour with unhealthy food (I usually go for a big tub of ben and jerry's ice cream... and bake cookies lol).

Personally, I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, like you said... treating yourself with something that you wouldnt look forward like brocolli (lol), would be pointless!

Why dont you find something else other than food? Like going to the cinema, buying yourself a new item of clothing ect??

babyg xXx

I'm a firm believer in rewarding myself - Starbuck's esspresso brownies are my treat. Or I'll buy some fun inexpensive jewellery for myself. (Trying to cut back on that)

I was actually discussing this today with a woman at my AA meeting, because I said I was having some trouble with cravings in the past week and she said that in early recovery (which I am) anything is better than drinking - even if it means temporarily pigging out on goodies or going on mini shopping sprees, because that's all behaviour that can be stopped / sorted out later where'as relapsing into the addiction would be really bad.

So i totally support your treating yourself to celbrate being 30 days smoke free.

--splitimage

I think rewarding ourselves for the small and big accomplishments is awesome. I love Dippin' Dots ice cream...yum!!!

Rewarding yourself is a GOOD thing! Doesn't matter if it's healthy...heck once a week I go to Dairy Queen for a twist...mmmm...that's what I call a good treat!

I totally support this idea! ;]
Btw, congrats on your 30th day, Defective!

I do reward myself from time to time. Sometimes, I buy a new pair of shoes (I'm a shoe person), or I rent out DVDs and have a good laugh. But I'd have to say, FOOD is the most delectable treat!

<font color="purple">Clandestine</font>

Congratulations on your 30th day not smoking.
I think rewarding yourself is a good idea, I usually allow myself to spend a little extra money for a reward.

Congrats on 30 days!!!!

I generally reward myself with something like seafood--some fresh scallops or sushi--something that is a little expensive but not outrageous.

Again, congrats on 30 days!

Congrats on the 30 days!

Absolutely reward yourself! An occasional reward like that isn't nearly the same as smoking all that time! Perhaps in the future you will want to reward yourself better, but for now, you're still learning. (Otherwise you wouldn't be beating yourself up over your reward!)

If you still aren't happy with how you did that, then reward yourself again with something better! You give yourself permission to do that!

Thanks for all the replies. I guess i wasnt connecting a one time treat even if unhealthy isnt nearly the same as a many times a day unhealthy habit. It didnt occur to me to buy stuff i like that i just want like dvds and the like. Thats a good idea and ill have to remember it so i can have different kinds of rewards for things. Thanks again.