A friend of mine told me that she’s giving up wine and chocolate for Lent. For her, this is a big sacrifice, because she almost always has a glass of wine when she comes home from work to unwind the day. And I guess chocolate has a special place in her heart as well. (Who’s heart doesn’t have that for chocolate, right?) The wine seems like the harder one though. It signals for her the end of a long day and with that glass she can just relax her stress away.
It doesn’t just calm her down though, she actually really loves wine. So much so that she’s taking classes to learn about it and even knows everyone who works at her favorite wine bar. She’s passionate about it and knows different vintages, ports, bouquets, and a bunch of other things that I know nothing about. Anyone who’s ever been passionate about something knows that it’s not so easy to just shut it out.
It’s actually pretty interesting, she’s finding that just as much as it’s a religious thing it’s also a lifestyle change. We were talking about this one day and she made a very clever connection when she was wondering if giving something up for Lent gives people more conviction to stick with it, because it’s tied up with religion. I definitely think she’s on to something. It’s giving her a reason to ignore her cravings for her glass of sanity – because that’s really what it’s become. It’s become a habit for her to have that glass when she comes home more than a real desire, and had she just arbitrarily decided to give up wine she’d most likely have too many excuses as to why it’s ok to “have just one glass, just this one time”, and that time would turn into the next and the next. Instead, when she comes home now and has a craving, she dives into work, reading, a bath, or anything to distract herself. These 40 days is giving her a goal, a well-defined goal, that is helping keep her on track. It’s also making it more manageable, because there’s an end in sight.
This is so similar to giving up sweets, for example, for the sake of loosing weight. If you have little mini goals set-up to measure your success the probability of you choosing an apple over that yummy piece of cake soars. But, if you just go at it without any plan you’ll feel like a hamster on a never-ending wheel. You need to define how much you want to lose or what size you want to be, and in how many days you’re going to do it in. Otherwise, there’s nothing forcing you to stick with your plan, because there’s no incentive.
Whenever we change up our patterns we create new routines, and I have a feeling that after Lent is over she may have a glass of wine once in a while when she really wants it, but it won’t be an everyday ritual.
For this week’s goal, whether you celebrate Lent or not, decide to change something in your routine for 40 days. It’s just 40 days, but it can really change your life. I’m going to limit my night time snacking to 100 calories or less. Please share what you’re doing.
Also, have you ever given up something for the sake of Lent, health, or weight loss? How did you manage and how did it work out?
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