I daresay pretty much all of us have temptations to overindulge in one thing or another. Food, sex, drugs, alcohol, sleep, exercise, the internet, pickles, fast living, spending. You don’t have to be a [fill in your vice here]aholic to be someone who overindulges.

Me? Food is where those sorts of temptations come up for me most often. I have such great memories associated with food of times spent with my dad, my family of origin, my extended family, my husband, my children, my friends. Food is part of many celebrations and therefore is intimately intertwined with our experience. Some people find it tricky to detach the emotional satisfaction of food from the nutritional value!

Quick. First food you think of when you think of going to the movies. Popcorn? That’s mine. For most of the movies I have attended, a bucket of popcorn was always just part of the experience. Even, in the olden days, WITH the butter-like phude they put on top.

I recently lost some weight and recommitted myself to eating fewer carbs and grains, more fruit and veg, more protein, and overall healthier.

So, I was a little scared to go to the movies. I was not sure I could trust myself to say no to the popcorn even though that was what I wanted to say, because part of me always seems to want to say yes, especially to that yummy caramel corn they have.

Yesterday was the big debut for my new intention to eat healthier, including at the movies.

Jurassic Park 3D, here we come. As we walked from the parking lot to the theater, this happened:

Me: Do you mind if I tell you all the reasons I don’t want popcorn?
Him: There is nothing I can imagine wanting more right now than hearing all the reasons you don’t want popcorn. (possibly not an exact quote)
Me: Blah blah OVERPRICED wah wah wah FEEL BLOATED mumble MESSY sniff sniff SHAME blah blah. And blah.

By the time we entered the theater, I was very sure that I was not going to buy popcorn. Those reasons were way enough motivation to give it a very wide berth.

Who cares? Well, I’m always trying to focus on what I DO want, but remembering all the things that I experience when I eat popcorn at the theater was more focused on what I did NOT want. And it was extremely effective. And empowering. And healthy. And positive.

Pretty sure most of us can do with more empowering, healthy, positive, effective ideas. What are some of the attitudes and actions you find to be empowering, healthy, positive and effective?