Treat Yo' Self

Shopping.
Ordering online.
Eating out.
Hot, long showers.
Binge drinking.
Eating cookies.

Life is full of treats. 
Some are tasty, others are social, and then there are a few which are “guilty pleasures.”

The risk with these “treats” is that they become more than a treat, but instead become a “norm.”

We order a new set of shoes every paycheck.
We practically never cook, going out to eat every night.
We sit in the scalding, soothing heat of the shower each day until it goes cool.
Every Friday going drinking with friends becomes an all weekend bender…A single Oreo with milk becomes two. Then 5. Then the whole package. Then it becomes a pack of Oreos every shopping trip.

These moments of “Treat yo’self” become habitual.

You’ve overspent.
Developed an addiction.
Overconsumed calories and gained weight.

When a treat becomes a norm, you no longer get the moment of joy — the hit of dopamine — that it once had.

How do you get the feeling back? Advance to day drinking? Eating cookies all day? Maxing out credit card after credit card?

Treats abused become desensitizing and resource draining.

So — enjoy your treats! Follow good moderation. Be mindful of overconsumption or overstimulation.

Treat Yo’self responsibly. 

Follow for daily philosophical meditations.

These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”