Saturday, November 5, 2016



This is a baby step. Like most baby steps, it is wobbly and hesitant. But the path is one I'm overdue to travel. That is why I am going to let some of the finer points go and allow the outset to be a little messy.

"Reward your inner child" is about a journey towards joy, a practice for making happiness happen. I will start with a disclaimer, a little step backwards to make sure you know what this is not. It's not about indulgence or rewards in the material sense. In truth, it's as much about discipline as anything.

The notion of rewarding my inner child started when I gradually noticed how bad I was at taking care of myself, not in the everyday way we think of, like brushing our teeth and getting to work on time, but in a more existential sense. I was not valuing the things I needed to be happy, and in the process was not valuing myself. Too much of my self-worth hinged (and still does) on the opinions and actions of others. It was (is) time to reset my valuation.

Changing a habit--whether a habit of thinking or of doing--is a learning process. All the elements that lead to learning are needed. I decided that the first step was to use the same methods I might use to reinforce behavior in a child, which will probably seem quite apt as this story and journey continue. I would choose actions of caring for myself--mentally, physically, spiritually. These would become my chores, so to speak, and for every one I completed in a day, I would reward myself with a literal gold star.



I will confess that my start has been weak. Though I think I have moved the needle a bit, even if only by the action of naming the things that help me stay whole--reading, resting, exercising, writing--I feel I need a bit more of a head start on the journey.

That's why I decided I needed some motivational swag and friends along for the trip. I have no idea what the final destination will be, and maybe at the end all I'll have is this lousy t-shirt. I do plan to tell some stories on the way, so perhaps you'll come along for the ride.

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