The Power of Guilt

Sometime in college, I realized the power of making myself feel guilty. It wasn’t something that I purposely did, but it happened to me one day. My New Years Resolution had been to start eating healthier, and I stuck to it. I didn’t eat any candy and I started eating healthy sandwiches and salads, instead of burgers and fries. This went on for a month or so - and then one day I ate a candy bar. It tasted good, but I felt really bad about it afterwards. I had put in all this effort to lose weight and it was finally paying off, and now I was going to throw it all away for a candy bar?

That fact is that one candy bar wouldn’t suddenly make me fat - but I had shifted my thinking about food. I was at a point where I expected myself to eat healthy and to avoid all junk food, thus when I did eat junk food, I really thought about the effect that it would have on me and my health.

Today I eat healthier than I ever have, but the idea of guilt still pops up from time to time. I know that it is okay to indulge from time to time, but I try to keep it to Saturdays. When I am doing well with my running program, the same idea applies… I am working hard, sticking to my running program and making progress - and then suddenly I skip a day. I feel really bad about it. I feel that I have let myself down and I am throwing away everything that I have worked for. As a result, I do whatever I can to ensure that I follow through.

Make a commitment to yourself, and you’ll see the guilt start to arise. It’s a good thing. Embrace the guilt and see how it makes you feel. If you are truly committed to the task, you take the guilt as motivation to continue on your path to improvement.