I’ve been trying to stop stuffing my face for the past few months now and it is by far the most difficult thing I have ever tried to do.

I see so many similarities between overeating and clutter.  I eat out of boredom and for that little rush of good feelings chocolate and candy give me.  I shop and acquire things for those same reasons.  I have difficulty losing weight because of the excuses I tell myself for not working out (I’m tired, I’ll do it later, I’ll start tomorrow).  I use those same excuses for not picking up the mess in my home.

I’m starting to see a trend here and it goes for all those bad habits I’m working on. It all comes down to self discipline, and I obviously don’t have much of it!

Overspending, overeating, and a messy house are all symptoms of the same problem..lack of self control and self motivation.  I have tamed the beast in some areas of my life, but I have a long way to go with others.

I’m a messy, lazy, self indulgent person.  I have to force myself to put the dishes in the dishwasher and to put the toothpaste away when I’m done with it. I am constantly reminding myself to pick up after myself so it isn’t a huge mess later.  It’s like I’m exercising my cleaning and organizing muscle, the more I do it, the easier it becomes. I fall off the wagon often and when I do, it takes only a day or two for my home to look like a bomb went off.  Fortunately, I get back on track with a good hour of hard work and cleaning, as long as I didn’t let it go more than a few days.

If only it was that easy for my body.  I can do well all morning and try to eat healthy and not overindulge, but all it takes is one weak moment and a box of chocolates to throw my entire week down the drain!

You have no idea how many times I’ve said to myself “if only losing weight was as easy as keeping a clean and organized home”.  But maybe it is!  I can be super messy for a few days and get my home back to clean in under an hour because it was clean and organized to begin with.  It took me a long time to get my home organized in the first place, I worked on it everyday for a year until I got it to where I wanted it.

If I worked on my body everyday for a half an hour I’m sure I could get myself in good enough shape that the occasional binge wouldn’t ruin all my hard work.  I could eat chocolate and then spend an hour working out hard to get myself back. It’s the working on it everyday that is the hard part…oh, if only they sold a self discipline pill…I’d buy it by the case!

Do you have a trick for getting yourself motivated and strengthening that self control muscle? I’d love to hear it!