I had an epiphany about self control this week and I am having a very hard time putting it into words, but I will try my best.
Recently, I had the ultimate temptation. It only comes around once a year, but it is a big one for me. Halloween candy.Typically I gorge on Halloween candy. Those teeny tiny chocolate bars mess with your head. But I was prepared. I ate a lot (mostly healthy food) and filled up. I got through Halloween. No candy. I got through the next day. No candy. I was really okay about it too.
Then Monday rolled around. I had dropped Holden and Beau of at school and Mia and Everly off at their first day of daycare. I had a lot of work to do and of course, our house was a mess. That’s when I decided: this is the moment. This is the moment that I am going to sit in the quiet of my home and enjoy a couple pieces of candy. And I did.The thing is, because I had exercised so much self control over the weekend, when I was most tempted, I had got myself past the hardest part. I was able to eat those two pieces of candy, and move on.
This was an “aha” moment for me, because it made me realize that by having self control in the moments when I was the most tempted, made me stronger in the days that followed.
I had weathered the storm.
Picture an earthquake. It’s hard, but you get through it. Afterwards, the after shocks don’t seem that bad. You are stronger now.
Moments like Halloween, Thanksgiving and even really stressful days of motherhood are my earthquakes. Going through those with my willpower still in tact, makes me stronger and more resilient each time.
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