In years gone by, I tried to bribe myself into changing by promising myself various rewards for achieving milestones. Sometimes it kind of worked, but mostly it didn’t. What I’ve come to realize is that I don’t have to create rewards for changing, karma actually just happens automatically and it is actually pretty instantaneous. Let me explain what I mean.
Karma is simply the cause and effect of an action. If I do something it will have an effect. If I drop an egg, it will break.
If I overeat, (and I have done plenty of that), then I feel yucky and I gain extra weight. I am also more likely to continue overeating especially if I have consumed food with sugar or other addictive substances. In Ayurveda this is known as the like attracts like principle. In addition, I will feel bad about myself, shooting myself with the second and third arrows in the same wound. The more I continue to do it, I worse I will feel physically, the more my health will deteriorate and the worse I will feel about myself. This will be greatly exacerbated because my brain chemistry will be working against me leaving me feeling out of control, addicted, depressed, anxious and not sleeping well. Perhaps worst of all, I will lose trust in myself and start believing that I will never be able to change. This is a type of karma, simple cause and effect. It will compound over time and spin off into all different directions and corners of my life creating even more karma.
On the other hand, if I eat well and just enough, I get to feel healthy, in control, good about myself and I will have plenty of energy. This is also an example of the simple cause and effect karma.
When we start to realize that karma is our friend and not something to be feared, it can really help us become the best version of ourselves. Living in the moment and just focusing on the immediate cause and effect of our actions is truly our north star and will help us to choose the energy that we want to boomerang back into our lives.
I used to hate the word karma because I felt like I was constantly waiting for bad things to happen to me as a result of bad things I’d done in this lifetime and who knows, maybe even other ones too! Instead, now I’m taking a much more pragmatic approach and using the concept to be more mindful of my thoughts, words and actions. See the blog post about how I use my mantra Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu .
Now I see karma as something I can reset each day, each day I can think about what I want to sow and reap and what I want to release in order to create space for what I want more of. Although all of my past choices play a big part in whatever I’m experiencing today, there is always a choice and change is possible. So the best reward system that I can create for myself is simply remembering the law of karma. What I do this morning will determine how I feel and what I feel about myself tomorrow and this will compound over time.
The habits that I choose determine the rewards that I get. The best thing is, this approach saves a ton of money and it is totally environmentally responsible and sustainable!