I love soft drinks. When I was living abroad, not a day would go by without me having a glass. In fact, I would usually have a can of coke during lunch and dinner; none in the morning because I don’t eat breakfast most of the time. I used to think that I will never survive without them. My soft drinks intake was only curbed when I was studying in Australia during winter that I would prefer hot beverages.
When I came back to the Philippines, I would find myself always craving for cold soft drinks because of the warm weather making me constantly in need of refreshments. I am fully aware though that it has absolutely no health benefits. On the contrary, it will only wreak havoc on our health. Still, how can we ever resist?
This year though, I finally vowed never to drink a single drop of soft drinks for the entire year. I was hoping that if I could do it for a year, maybe — just maybe, I could do it forever. That was one of my New Year’s resolutions and the only one I was able to keep, unfortunately. Looking back, I would never have imagined myself resisting the urge for almost 8 months but I did! I am pretty proud of myself for having had the strength to say no to an extremely cold glass of coke on a hot summer day at the beach after eating too much meat. Can you?
How I managed to keep up with the challenge
I don’t really have any brilliant strategy to share though; nothing extraordinary. Making the commitment was the first step. It was my commitment that served as the pillar of this self-imposed rule. Then I took the challenge on a daily basis, telling myself ‘not today’. I found it extremely difficult during summer when it was too warm and I craved for that all too familiar refreshing comfort from a cold can of soda. But every time I am tempted, I would gently remind myself that I did not go this far for nothing and that my commitment is stronger than the damaging temptation. It also helped that I told people I was on this challenge because it held me even more accountable. Before I knew it, days turned into weeks and weeks into months and now I am almost 8 months into the challenge. Yes, 8 months without a single glass of any soft drinks. Instead, I settled with cold water or fruit juice.
Inspiration from a book
There’s this book that I read every year. I wrote about it here. In the book, there is a fable about a Sumo wrestler wearing nothing but a pink wire cable covering his private parts. The pink cable represents the power of self-control and discipline. Alone, each tiny wire that makes up the cable is flimsy and weak. “But, together, their sum is much greater than their constituent parts and the cable becomes tougher than iron. Self-control and willpower are similar to this. To build a will of iron, it is essential to take small, tiny acts in tribute to the virtue of personal discipline. Routinely performed, the little acts pile one on top of another to eventually produce an abundance of inner strength.”
Every time I am tempted to have soft drinks, I would remind myself of this lesson from the book. I am hoping that these tiny steps at discipline will strengthen my grit and enable me to make other greater personal commitments that I can keep. As the book says, “When you continually practice the ancient art of self-government, there will be no hurdle too high for you to overcome, no challenge too tough for you to surmount and no crisis too hot for you to cool down. Self-discipline will provide you with the mental reserves required to persevere when life throws you one of its little curves.”
Buy your copy of the book here!
When I came back to the Philippines, I would find myself always craving for cold soft drinks because of the warm weather making me constantly in need of refreshments. I am fully aware though that it has absolutely no health benefits. On the contrary, it will only wreak havoc on our health. Still, how can we ever resist?
This year though, I finally vowed never to drink a single drop of soft drinks for the entire year. I was hoping that if I could do it for a year, maybe — just maybe, I could do it forever. That was one of my New Year’s resolutions and the only one I was able to keep, unfortunately. Looking back, I would never have imagined myself resisting the urge for almost 8 months but I did! I am pretty proud of myself for having had the strength to say no to an extremely cold glass of coke on a hot summer day at the beach after eating too much meat. Can you?
How I managed to keep up with the challenge
I don’t really have any brilliant strategy to share though; nothing extraordinary. Making the commitment was the first step. It was my commitment that served as the pillar of this self-imposed rule. Then I took the challenge on a daily basis, telling myself ‘not today’. I found it extremely difficult during summer when it was too warm and I craved for that all too familiar refreshing comfort from a cold can of soda. But every time I am tempted, I would gently remind myself that I did not go this far for nothing and that my commitment is stronger than the damaging temptation. It also helped that I told people I was on this challenge because it held me even more accountable. Before I knew it, days turned into weeks and weeks into months and now I am almost 8 months into the challenge. Yes, 8 months without a single glass of any soft drinks. Instead, I settled with cold water or fruit juice.
Inspiration from a book
There’s this book that I read every year. I wrote about it here. In the book, there is a fable about a Sumo wrestler wearing nothing but a pink wire cable covering his private parts. The pink cable represents the power of self-control and discipline. Alone, each tiny wire that makes up the cable is flimsy and weak. “But, together, their sum is much greater than their constituent parts and the cable becomes tougher than iron. Self-control and willpower are similar to this. To build a will of iron, it is essential to take small, tiny acts in tribute to the virtue of personal discipline. Routinely performed, the little acts pile one on top of another to eventually produce an abundance of inner strength.”
Every time I am tempted to have soft drinks, I would remind myself of this lesson from the book. I am hoping that these tiny steps at discipline will strengthen my grit and enable me to make other greater personal commitments that I can keep. As the book says, “When you continually practice the ancient art of self-government, there will be no hurdle too high for you to overcome, no challenge too tough for you to surmount and no crisis too hot for you to cool down. Self-discipline will provide you with the mental reserves required to persevere when life throws you one of its little curves.”
Buy your copy of the book here!
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