A THOUGHT that will nip in the bud overspending and overeating
Many years ago I started using this THOUGHT, when I tried to change my shopping habits. And then sugar eating habits. As a Capricorn, I love material things, I think they can make us happy, they can bring joy (…until they don’t). So this THOUGHT doesn’t imply we never buy anything again! But a little bit of self discipline is EXACTLY what will GET US what we want. Here it is:
“Just because I like it, it doesn’t mean I have to have it”
As we go thru the stores we think all kinds of thoughts. Like “I have to have it. I neeeeed it!” But the truth is, most of the time we don’t need it. We think that THIS dress, this purse will do the trick and make us feel confident, attractive or sexy. Spoiler: you are already attractive. You can already FEEL confident. Besides, just like me, you probably have enough of accessories and clothes in your closet. And they cannot MAKE YOU more confident. Only how you choose to think about them does.
How are you telling yourself this? (the energy underneath the words)
I suppose you could feel deprived and not worthy, once you hear “just because you love it it doesn’t mean you have to buy it”. This thought could trigger a cascade of negative thoughts about you. But… no, no, no, it’s not how we do it.
Just like we don’t determine our worthiness based on stuff.
It doesn’t mean you have to have it, it doesn’t mean you have to buy it
because you are already whole. Without the “thing”
You reach to the sense of worthiness within. And you walk away feeling confident. The confidence is even better. It’s real. It comes from within, not from the external thing.
You can still “love it”. But it stays at the store.
What voice is it?
Very often people who want to change habits talk about “the parts.” “A part of me said: girl! you got to have it! But then, another part of me, probably the wiser me, said: you need to pay off the debt, you need to save money for the move.”
And it’s helpful to tell apart the voices in our mind this way: the wiser self / the higher self is the voice that tells us to delay gratification. The voice that reminds us about our long term goals.
How did the thought help me stop eating sugar?
I’d go to the store, to the pastries section, and I’d just look at then all… So beautiful, so well made. (So inflammatory, so neurotoxin-y, so making me fat)
“Just because it looks good it doesn’t mean I have to eat it.”
“Just because it’s in front of me, it doesn’t mean I have to eat it.”
We shop with our eyes. We eat with our eyes. And that was enough. I don’t recall a time when this failed me.
Do you have a habit of compulsive eating or shopping you wish you could change? Use this thought (or your version of it) remember your worthiness comes from within. You are not missing anything. You are already whole.