Have a “Cheat Day”
So, one day a week, I give myself permission to be less intense than normal.
Sunday is my "cheat day." The idea of a cheat day is drawn from a common practice in the fitness world. In order to achieve high levels of fitness and strength, a person needs to be incredibly disciplined with not only their workout routine but also with their food choices. Bodybuilders and athletes who compete at a very high level need to be very particular with what type of food they consume and how much of it they consume in order to achieve their desired physical look and ability. Many even go as far as to calculate their calorie and nutritional intake and record it in a notebook so that they can keep track of it. This disciplined practice of food consumption, however, can possibly make for a boring life, especially if one is unable to eat certain food that they may like and crave. And so, it's common practice for some fitness enthusiasts to have a "cheat day." On this particular day, they give themselves permission to consume whatever they desire (within reason, of course). It can also be seen as a way to reward themselves for putting in all the hard work for the past six days. They then go back to being incredibly disciplined the very next day.
I practice something similar with my spiritual disciplines. It's important to note right off the bat that I'm not endorsing indulging in sin for a day. This is not a loosening of discipline so I can sin as much as I want on my cheat day. Instead, what I do is give myself permission to be less intense with my spiritual disciplines. For six straight days, I have been working hard at growing my relationship with Christ through intense spiritual exercises. It is such rewarding and delightful work to grow spiritually stronger day by day. But the deep spiritual work can also be intense and tiring. So, one day a week, I give myself permission to be less intense than normal. I intentionally give myself a break from the hard work of developing my spiritual life.
I decided to put my cheat day on a Sunday because in my tradition, this is the day I worship with a community of believers. Therefore, I'm still very much spending time with the Lord—it's just done in the company of other believers. Additionally, I don't necessarily neglect personal time with God on my cheat day. I'm just not as intense about it. For example, instead of my usual three to four hours of prayer and meditation, I might only spend 30 minutes to an hour in personal time with the Lord. And so, I'm still engaging in spiritual activity on this day. All I've done is give myself permission to do less of it and to even skip some intense practices like memorizing Scripture. This gives me a much needed mental break from the high intensity spiritual workouts that I've been doing. And we all know we need breaks from time to time from just about any intense activity. As a result of the short break, I have found that the "cheat day" refreshes my mind so that I can go back at it hard again the very next day.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
