Using food as a reward can create unhealthy habits. To cultivate a better reward system, motivate yourself with alternative treats as though such an insane thing would actually work. The key to succeeding at this change in your lifestyle? Approaching it in a manner that suggests you could actually find anything else satisfying. Here, we found some ways to reward yourself without food, as if that were possible.
Relaxing Massage
A relaxing massage is the best way to reward yourself, aside from eating tons of delicious, mouthwatering food. When you’re writing a tedious assignment and need a reason to see it through, remember the reason can’t be Pad Thai anymore because that’s psychologically unhealthy. Instead, give yourself the gift of a massage, as though a stranger repeatedly hitting your back with their hands could ever be as fulfilling as a wagonful of noodles. Force yourself to imagine a world in which this pleases you more than saucy peanut sauce. Wonderful! You should start getting the hang of this after a few years.
Spa Facial at Home
Not rewarding yourself with food can make you feel stressed, causing even more acne, so reverse the effects with a spa facial at home. A spa facial can refresh your skin, and sort of convince you to enjoy an activity other than eating. Fun tip: An at-home facial means you’re doing your facial at home, which is also a place where many people eat food. So grab your BFF and then grab some masks, and then act as though putting goop on your face could ever be as satisfying as putting many different types of puddings and snacks in your hungry mouth. You’re so, so close to being healthier!
Personal Training Session
Book yourself a personal training session to reward yourself after a tough assignment. Blast a playlist of your choosing and let your ponytail fly as you spend 45 minutes doing fast, random body movements that fill you up with endorphins rather than queso dip. Think that sounds lame and not at all as fun as eating? You can trick yourself into thinking otherwise by simply closing your eyes, then imagining an alternate reality in which life has a purpose aside from acquiring more and more tasty treats that you put in your stomach. Great job! Your brain’s new reward system is transforming you into a better, more unrecognizable person.
Die
Without food to reward your efforts, just go ahead and die. This is an exciting treat for anyone who’s just completed an annoying task, such as doing taxes, and isn’t allowed to have any cake as a result. Plus, it’s the only treat that makes sense, since you’ve chosen to deny God’s greatest gift to humankind: good flavors derived from snacks.
Finding a way to reward yourself without food may be difficult, if you can even begin to wrap your mind around such a thing, but we promise you can probably do it.
