Author Topic: How do you "treat" yo-self?  (Read 2810 times)

onemorebike

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How do you "treat" yo-self?
« on: September 26, 2018, 06:19:51 AM »
On the path to improved mustachianism and adopting stoicism, I've lost all of the ways I would "treat" myself:

I used to eat meat/eat out: Now I don't do either.
I used to drink beer/alcohol: Now I don't.
I used to drink diet soda: Now I don't/try not to.
I fell into the ice cream treat for awhile, but over did it, so I'm trying not to.
This all has had a remarkable effect on my health, but less effect on the feeling of being treated.

These are obviously all food based, but I'm curious, how to you "treat yo-self" or reward yourself as a mustachian?

I need some ideas!

Thanks in advance,

onemorebike

TheHardenedInvestor

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2018, 06:36:19 AM »
I think your inquiry presupposes that treating yourself means doing something “bad” for your health or money. I treat myself by doing the stuff I enjoy and this largely involves challenging myself and accomplishing goals (they can be small daily goals as well). I think overtime, you will find that not eating meat, etc are what you want to do and not what you are trying to refrain from.

onemorebike

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2018, 06:43:40 AM »
I think your inquiry presupposes that treating yourself means doing something “bad” for your health or money. I treat myself by doing the stuff I enjoy and this largely involves challenging myself and accomplishing goals (they can be small daily goals as well). I think overtime, you will find that not eating meat, etc are what you want to do and not what you are trying to refrain from.

That wasn't my intent. It just happens that there were a lot of ways that I "relaxed" or "rewarded" myself that included eating foods or drinking something that I no longer eat/drink. I made all of those choices because I don't want to do them anymore and in some cases, I haven't done them for some time. I still reward myself with long bike rides, camping trips, etc but I'm interested in some other quick, healthy, easy rewards and wonder what the rest of this community does to treat themselves.

Linea_Norway

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2018, 06:51:30 AM »
My treats:

Stand a minute or so longer under the shower. No, not Mustachian because it costs more warm water, but neutral for your health.

Cuddle in my comfy chair or sofa with a good book (from the library or for free from my Samsung book deal).

Make a cup of tea from wild herbs that I dried earlier this year.

Watching a show on TV. We pay for basic TV anyway, so it is not an extra cost apart from a little energy.

Sitting in the sun on the terrace.

Sitting longer at the breakfast table to watch birds and squirrels in the tree in front of the window.

Going on a camping trip to a nice and quiet area where you can camp for free. Maybe with a cano.

Baking something, e.g. bread.

Enjoy a glass of homebrewed beer.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2018, 06:57:58 AM by Linda_Norway »

boarder42

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2018, 06:52:55 AM »
From your list

I used to eat meat/eat out: I never really ate out alot - we cut it back a ton when we found MMM now it really doesnt matter so we go out a bit more
I used to drink beer/alcohol: We've always drank too much - we cut back a ton when we found MMM now it doesnt really matter but it still is less due to new baby
I used to drink diet soda: Never did this
I fell into the ice cream :  i love ice cream i eat it a day or 2 a week max most weeks not at all.

How i really treat myself - vacations - and wake surfing the lake on my boat - also the ridiculous lake front mcmansion we now own.  All of these things are probably on the hedonistic adaptation side of the MMM forums but we don't claim to be MMM - save early save often and you'll get half way there and be like wow i have some extra freedoms now. 

2Birds1Stone

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2018, 06:56:09 AM »
I regularly treat myself to mid day walks, especially during a busy work day. I treat myself to long bike rides on the weekends, both in the woods and on the beautiful roads in the suburbs. Treat myself to a hand ground, French pressed cup of coffee every morning, usually while listening to the birds sing. Treat myself to a good meal out or happy hour once in a while.....oh who am I kidding, weekly =)

Linea_Norway

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2018, 06:56:25 AM »
I also have a lot of unmustachian self-treatment flaws. Like, when I'm home alone for dinner, I tend to buy cheesecake and eat the 2 portions all by myself for dinner. I usually end up quite sick after that. But I simply love the stuff. Tonight I will be in that situation, dining alone. I have made a plan to make myself a vegetarian dish from spinach, egg and other stuff that we have at home, I hope I can withstand the temptation to buy bullshit food. I should just try and not go shopping at all, because I basically don't need it.

swinginbeef

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2018, 07:08:47 AM »
how about giving yourself permission to take a random day off in the middle of the work week with no predetermined plans?

boarder42

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2018, 07:18:44 AM »
how about giving yourself permission to take a random day off in the middle of the work week with no predetermined plans?

thats a fun one. 

Mrs.Piano

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2018, 08:22:59 AM »
I treat myself with a visit to the local Korean family sauna. Good for the health, relaxing, fun!

Maenad

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2018, 09:00:46 AM »
I've thought about this a lot, myself. Most of my ways to treat myself involve spending money or eating, neither of which is a good treat in excess.

So, what's a *real* luxury? Time. Like taking a day off for no reason mentioned above. Take some time to sit and read, play with pets or kids, cuddle with a SO, help out family or friends. Take some time to take care of your mental health. Stop running so hard and just... chill for a bit.

boarder42

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2018, 09:26:41 AM »
i'm currently treating myself to no more fridays at work to spend time with our 2 month old.  We'll see how long i'm allowed to do this.

Frankies Girl

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #12 on: September 26, 2018, 09:29:41 AM »
I sleep in. Or take an extra long nap.

I fix a cup of tea and settle into the couch with a good book and spend the entire day just reading.

Go to the library and get a freaking ginormous amount of interesting books or movies/tv shows to plow through.

Binge a tv series at home cuddled on the couch.

Go to the nature preserve for the whole day. I like to pack a lunch with a small cooler of drinks and take a sketch book or regular reading book.

Go do a matinee at the first run theater, or go do a dollar cinema and eat out at a cheap/healthy lunch place.

Bubble bath. I adore stupid amounts of bubbles or those ridiculous bath bombs/fizzy things. I stock up on the clearance sales, so I have a nice but cheap assortment. I set up a playlist and go relax.

Paint my toes/home pedicure. I have lots of crazy colors and it's fun. I currently have ruby slipper nails - they are ruby red with glitter sparkle. I plan on changing over to candy corn (orange/yellow/white) nails with jack o' lantern pumpkin face big toes for October. :)

Play with my animals. I have my own, but I also volunteer with a animal shelter so I go play with them too and help out. It makes you feel both noble and helpful whilst getting lots of puppy/cat snuggles and playtime.

Just remembered - I do thrift store hunting as a hobby, and treated myself to a new power tool for my prop building hobby (but also for house maintenance). So a big treat for me is to go spend the day hitting half a dozen different thrift stores looking for treasures. I have a running list of things I want/need and I know my price limits, so it's lots of fun for me to go out on what amounts to a scavenger hunt through the local chain of goodwills for those items. Super exciting scoring something I have needed or wanted for a very long time for pennies on the dollar. I don't buy random crap - there are specific things I am looking for, so it's not as much of a money waster as it sounds. I count flea markets too, so spending the day just window shopping like this - even if we don't find anything - is nice for me (and the spouse, sort of a fun day for the both of us).
« Last Edit: September 26, 2018, 09:36:36 AM by Frankies Girl »

Schaefer Light

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #13 on: September 26, 2018, 10:44:40 AM »
I like to buy quality items that I will use a lot and that will last for a very long time.  Like a Scotty Cameron putter.  These types of rewards don't happen very often, but I enjoy the anticipation and the research I do before making the purchase just as much as actually having the new item.  A more frequent treat would be taking a random afternoon off from work (on a day when the weather is particularly nice) to actually use the Scotty Cameron putter.

FireHiker

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #14 on: September 26, 2018, 12:29:29 PM »
I treat myself by:
-delicious iced coffee made at home with Trader Joe's concentrate. It's $0.50 each serving, much better than $3, and I get hot coffee free at work.
-time with a good book, cross stitch, playing the piano, or yoga
-hiking/camping/spending time outside
-staying in bed on a weekend with my kindle instead of getting up right away; feels like such a luxurious treat but doesn't mess up my waking schedule
-planning really good travel with excellent food and fun activities. The travel itself is bigger, but the planning is a "treat" for me in the meantime.
-coming home from work an hour or two early and not picking the kids up until normal time...rare but wonderful alone time!

lentil

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #15 on: September 26, 2018, 12:35:40 PM »
We often plan to cook a meal together, usually on Fridays when we have a bit more time/energy. Something with flavors/textures that are different from our regular meals, or that requires more elaborate preparation...or go the opposite route, and make it an "easy-prep" meal so you can reward yourself with a night off from cooking. Still food-related, but more about variation than about junk food, plus the experience of enjoying a meal together.

Novelty is highly rewarding for me -- new places, new activities, and just shaking myself out of my usual habits. So I try to 'treat' myself to new experiences in easy ways, like finding a new park to take a walk in, new route to ride my bike, new-to-me activities, etc.. Finding local opportunities for free/cheap entertainment and engagement has been a fun challenge, and led to lots more options for treat-like things.

Find things to do that engage new parts of your brain. For me, it's often making things with my hands -- I get engaged in it in ways that are very different than my usual tasks require. I guess this isn't a treat so much as a way of spending my time that doesn't leave me feeling like I need to be treated.

Call a friend just to talk.

Throw the ball for the dog.

Make myself a mug of tea.

Light a fire in the fireplace.

Eat breakfast for dinner (or dinner for breakfast).

Read a good book.

Plan a future adventure.

Make art.

Sit in the sun.

Go for a walk.

Wait fifteen minutes and see if I still feel the need for a treat.

OtherJen

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #16 on: September 26, 2018, 12:44:25 PM »
I just took a 45-minute walk outside. The weather is perfect so that was a nice treat.

marion10

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Re: How do you "treat" yo-self?
« Reply #17 on: September 26, 2018, 12:48:25 PM »
Free theater festival (new playwrights)- got 4 free tickets. Will have friends over before hand for chili with beer bread from a mix my mother gave me. Then walk to the show.