If you binge eat, what will you future self say?
Do you ever think about that?
In the moment when you’re feeling that urge and you want to binge so badly, you most likely don’t think about it. You’re thinking about how you want to eat, but you also don’t, but you really do because eating will make you feel better….along with lots of other thoughts and rationalizations that make binge eating sound like a good idea.
Your future self isn’t even a thought in your mind.
But it should be.
Your future self is going to feel the repercussions of what you do in this moment.
Your future self is the one that will look back and think, “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Your future self is the one who’s going to feel the guilt, regret, and shame.
Most importantly, your future self is still you. What you do in this moment is setting you up to feel something later and you get to decide what feeling that will be.
How do you want to feel an hour from now? Do you want to feel guilty? Regretful? Ashamed? Probably not.
But if you binge now, you probably will.
Instant gratification can be very tempting. You want to feel better NOW, but what makes you feel better now may not make you feel good later. In the same sense, what makes you feel good later may not feel good right now.
Sometimes sacrifices need to be made to get what you want long-term.
You want to not binge eat so you’re going to need to feel some discomfort now to avoid huge amounts of discomfort later.
What you get from waiting for that delayed gratification, when you sit with your uncomfortable urge instead of acting on it, will be much more awesome than what you get from binge eating, will feel much better, and will be so worth the wait.
It’s your choice – a smidgen of pleasure now from eating, or pride, self-confidence, and accomplishment later if you don’t eat.
When you’re feeling that urge to binge, and you have all kinds of thoughts running through your head, make sure one of them is, “What would my future self want me to do?” Then answer that question.
Look at the big picture, not just what you feel like doing right now.
