A Test of Will

Every year for Lent, I choose something different to give up. It's less to do with religion and more a test of will really. It usually takes me awhile to come up with something good. It can't be too difficult, or else it won't work. It can't be too easy, or else it wouldn't be a test of will. I try to find something bad, some vice of mine, that I should cut back on. It's my New Years resolution two months late.

My favorite thing that I ever gave up was elevators. It wasn't too easy, or too hard, and was more than a little creative if I do say so myself. It was while I was studying abroad. We lived in an apartment on the fourth floor. The building had an elevator so we usually ditched the stairs and took the lazier way up. For those long weeks, I took the stairs while my roommates took the elevator, laughing at me the whole way.

This Lent, I'm giving up chocolate and limiting my sugar intake to one packet per tea/coffee. I love chocolate, too much. I crave it every single day. It's time to cut back. As for the sugar, normally, I use a lot of sugar - about 4 packets per drink. What can I say? I like my drinks sweet. But I know it's not good for me and it's probably ruining my taste buds, so for Lent, I'm cutting back.

Lent, for me, is a better motivator than New Years. I'm not completely sure why. It could be that there's an end in sight, so it feels more doable. Strangely though, even when Easter comes, and I'm allowed to binge on sugar, or chips and dip, or take the elevator, I find that I don't want to. I find my practice in self control stays with me. The thrill of completing something and actually following through makes me want to keep going. At least for a few months.