When you hear the word “indulgence” what do you think of? Dark chocolate? Bubble Baths? A massage? Well, the concept of indulgence can be a little more sinister than one initially thinks. An indulgence is understood as something we treat ourselves to or value as particularly special in our lives, however, it is easy for our indulgence to escalate to a vice. If we reward ourselves at the end of the day with an hour of television, what’s to stop that one hour becoming five? Do you ever play video games excessively? Eat too much of your favorite food? Ignore your homework in order to hang out with friends? We are all guilty of taking indulgences too far and here are three good ways and reasons to keep your indulgent side in check:
- Calibrate Your Needs – We should dole out indulgences to ourselves when we feel like we just can not resist. You know those moments when you can not live without that bite of chocolate? Or you have worked hard all day and can not wait to enjoy that time with friends? Those are indulgent moments we should appreciate, not anticipate regularly. If we ate chocolate everyday and only hung out with friends, our figures would be unhealthy and we would never accomplish our work. This is why it is important to calibrate our needs – How much do I really want that chocolate? Is tonight a night I really ought to finish this work so that I can see my friends this weekend? These are questions we need to ask ourselves in order to regulate our indulgences so that they remain a treat and not a vice.
- Implement Likely Limits – As college students living on our own we are forced to understand ourselves better regarding our dietary, social, emotional, and physical needs. With this in mind, we have also had to learn to control indulgent side. Whether this is time, money, food, or free time, it is essential to overall wellness to implement likely limits for ourselves. The means operating in an objective way which will help us in the long term. Prone to ignoring homework to hang out with friends? Go to the library directly after class to do work you know you won’t do at home. Eat too many sweets? Then don’t keep them on hand. Do you go on Facebook for hours at a time? Log yourself out and go online for “fun time” at the end of the day. By learning to help ourselves, we can keep our indulgences exactly what they ought to be… indulgent!
- Flourish – Once you have calibrated your need and implemented realistic limits on your indulgences, you are bound to see a healthier and happier you! Facebook and television become enjoyable free time and seeing friends is particularly fun when your needs have been met. Overindulging is a habit that leads to a life of vices which are difficult to combat. If we take the time to address areas in life we tend to be too indulgent and we get them in order now, we are on the way to a more balanced and secure life for the long run. Cheers to that!