3 No Cost Ways to Reward Yourself

I have a recurring daydream.

I get up at the first tone of an alarm clock, leap out of bed, and into a quick shower. I do my hair and makeup, have a little coffee and toast, then dash off to work. Something perfectly repetitive, like an assembly line, so I can work and think of stories at the same time. Then, when my job is over, I go back to my little home, sit on a chair I picked out myself (and paid for with my own money). Then I do whatever I want with my evening. To me, this would be a luxury. No one could question me, because when you make your own money, you're free.

I've never been rich. Have you? I know we all have different definitions of being rich or being poor. Speaking for only myself and only about the life I have lived, I can tell you that there has never been a time when I wasn't worried about money. There has also never been a time in my life when I wasn't dependent on another person for money. I've always been a partner. Although I've worked part-time and made a nice little grocery-money-and-car-payment income, the family relied on me for services and another for the big bucks.

I'm not the kind of girl with a coffer full of dollars to be spent when I feel like I deserve a little something for all my efforts and good work. But I still believe in rewards. They are great motivators.

When it comes to rewarding myself for achieving a personal goal, I have been known to stand at the mirror silently, telling my reflection that the achievement is its own reward.

But it isn't. Only a reward is a reward.

I don't do these often, but if I publish something or hit a fitness goal, I can share three no-cost rewards I have bestowed upon myself from time to time to say atta-girl without putting a penny I haven't already spent on the line. Try one.

Mini Nature Vacay

I go outside.

I make a plan, a trip; a date with myself to spend at least an hour outside doing nothing but enjoying the beauty of nature. This is not a walk with the dog or a trip to the beach with the kids. It's not even a date to hold hands with my man. It's me time to really be present in nature.

I soak it up too, breathing the air, smelling things and touching the textures of trees and leaves. It's a vitamin D bonus if I'm in the sunshine. And I bring something home. A pebble or a twig. Here's a really important part; no pictures. Use your memory.

Kitchen Binge

Raid the stuff you already have in the kitchen. There's something in there you would love to gorge on. Only you know what that something is.

Eat it. All of it. Just for the sake of discussion, let's imagine a person (possibly me) who really loves muffins. Whip up a batch for just you. If everyone else is going to get the impression that the muffins are for... well, everyone else, make a double or triple batch so you can eat one after another after another. With butter.

I know what you're thinking. Why would I eat an entire batch of muffins to celebrate and reward achieving a fitness goal? If this is on your mind, skip directly to the next idea. It was tailor-made for you.

Selfie Session

I've rewarded myself for achievements with a selfie session since I first learned how to turn the camera around, snap a blind picture, and hope for the best.

These days, we are all aware of how to take a pretty flattering selfie. You know your angles, babe, we all do. Fix your hair, do your makeup, and take some beautiful pictures of your face.

Take a hundred and pick the best one, then put it on your social media profile. The thing you won't realize until you've done this is that the cute pictures are not the best thing about this personal reward. It’s the making up and taking the pictures. Editing them is fun too. Time flies, and it's surprisingly relaxing.