Where is the reward?

Rewards are required but the reward can't be the outcome (at least not the only reward). Sometimes that means you have to create it.

Health isn't always easy. You know that, though.

The work required often contradicts how you feel.

If left to my emotional brain, I'd sleep in every morning, skip work, binge on cereal (because you know it's one of my all-time favorite foods), stay in my pajamas (I probably do this too much anyway), and never wash dishes again.

If you're human, life can feel like a drag rather than a reward.

And health is no different. 

Part of being human is accepting that there are many things you don't necessarily want to do but should do, even need to do, because they better your life. But seeing that takes looking through a different lens.

It might feel rewarding to do the thing you want to or the thing your emotional brain convinces you to do, but in the long term, you have to ask, is it the most rewarding? 

It might sound like a downer, but one of the easiest ways to understand the long-term reward is to look first at the consequences.

What is the consequence of not doing it, even if you don't feel like doing it? 

All decisions carry a consequence and reward, the good and the bad. 

It's understanding those and filtering them through your thinking brain to make the best decision—a decision where the pros outweigh the cons.

A friend and I were texting about this just last week, and I thought it was a good reminder and motivation as we begin another month of the Nourish30 Challenge (you are joining, right?).

Some things bring a natural and immediate reward, while others feel more daunting than rewarding, even though, in the long term, they are equally (if not more) rewarding. 

Slow rewards are hard to stick with, but often, those are the rewards that are the most worth it.

As the quote says, “All good things take time.”

I'll follow that up by saying great things take a little longer.

What I'm trying to say is....

Don't stop because the reward isn't happening quickly enough. Stay with it and find the reward. Or better, learn to create it.

Rewards are required.

Rewards hardwire your brain to want more. Humans are pleasure seekers. It's part of your biology. It's in your DNA. It's so important if you don't learn how to create it, you'll find the hit of reward and most likely in unhealthy places.

The more you deny pleasure, the more you'll feel out of control trying to get it. But when you learn to create or find the reward, you can see the good through the bad without being controlled by it.

Spoiler: It's one big secret to overcoming cravings.

To build healthy habits, you must find the reward - even if faced with an immediate consequence (or hurdle).

The best news is that rewards aren't always found in the end goal or in the external thing. They're found in your perspective and how those actions fill you up.

• What does the reward look like?

• What is the reward for eating healthy?

• What is the reward for working out?

• What is the reward for spending time in prayer?

• What is the reward of working on your relationship with yourself and with others?

• What is the reward for working hard?

• What is the reward for budgeting?

• What is the reward for being more intimate with your spouse?

• What is the reward for learning how to process your emotions?

There is a reward to every good and hard thing, even if your emotional brain can't conceptualize it. If you can't understand it, look a little harder. All good things, no matter how hard, come with a reward.

REMINDER: Weight loss is a terrible reward.

You can let it be a goal, but not a reward. The reward has to come from all the places you take action in working to lose weight (I had to learn this the hard way).

What rewards do you experience when you live healthier?

You know I found a lot by engaging in the Nourish 30 Challenge (see my rewards here).

What about you?

Can you imagine what would happen in one month if you stopped living solely by your emotions and started to live for a greater reward?

Don't quit because you can't see it, but keep going and learn how to create it.

Let's make July a good one!