Are you a rebel? And what to do if you are.

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy.

We know what’s “good for us”, we know “the right thing to do”, and we know what we “shouldn’t do”, but we completely disregard these things and take action that is a complete 180 of what we say we want.

Have you ever quietly said to yourself something like this:

• “I don’t care if eating these cookies will make me fat…I’ll take five”
• “Yeah, I know I’ll feel better if I go for a walk or go to the gym, but No, not doing it.”
• “This scrolling is Not good for me” and continue to scroll and scroll.

You might be a rebel if you said “Yes”.

From her book, Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin describes a Rebel as one who “resists all expectations, outer and inner alike. They choose to act from a sense of choice, of freedom….They resist control, even self-control, and enjoy flouting rules and expectations.”

In the book, she also tells how one “Rebel explained, ‘If I have to do something every day, it guarantees I won’t do it. But if I take it one day at a time, and decide I’ll do it this time, then more often than not I end up with a streak.’ “

Rubin says “Rebels resist habits, but can embrace habit-like behaviors by tying their actions to their choices.”

Truly, I don’t know if the things listed above make you a Rebel or not, but when I catch myself having those Rebel tendencies here are some things that help me make better choices:

1. Sleep – it seems to always be the answer!
2. Remind myself “this is only one day” and won’t make or break me.
3. Drink more water – this might seem weird, but I always feel more tired, more irritable and less motivated when I am dehydrated.
4. Come to the reality that behaving “like this” won’t solve my true problems
5. Decide that tomorrow, if I catch myself starting the day in Rebel-mode, that there will be ONE things I won’t be rebellious about.
6. Do something that makes you laugh and have fun.

You can still reach goals and feel better! It helps to have someone in your corner and it helps to surround yourself with people who want the same thing you do.