kewl tip #9 – don't punish yourself

• Don’t punish yourself, feel discouraged, or become frustrated if you have a slip-up! I used to do it all the time. It doesn’t help, and it’s a waste of energy. No guilt!
• Forgive yourself, because it’s completely natural to make a small mistake now and then. Give yourself a pat-on-the-back for recognizing that you did something you want to improve on.
• Turn the experience into something positive. By learning from the situation and avoiding it next time, you’ve done something great!
• When you catch yourself early, you won’t repeat what you didn’t like.

My Thoughts:

I used to get so frustrated if I ate something that I shouldn’t have, or have tons of guilt about it for hours, if not the whole day—even the next day! I would criticize myself severely for being the way I was. It was a miserable, exhausting ritual, a complete waste of time and energy. While I’m not perfect now, I’ve learned how to move on without the guilt. It’s a whole lot easier to get back on track as opposed to spending time worrying about something in the past. I forgive myself, pat myself on the back for noticing the mistake, and tell myself that I can turn the experience into something helpful if I learn from it and move on. I can’t turn back time or make a different decision than the one I made by making myself feel awful, so what’s the point? So I ate something that wasn’t too great, or I veered off track a little… big deal. It’s completely normal! By catching myself now, what I did doesn’t become a habit, and I can feel good.