The inner brat

So today I stumbled upon a concept I'd never heard of before.

We've all heard about the "inner child," and there are people who have done extensive work to "parent" their "inner child," and it's all very serious. The inner child, as we know, protects us from scary situations but often sabotages us. The inner child doesn't know that we're adults now.

A more lighthearted twist on this concept is one of the "inner brat."

When you say "Oh, I'll do it later," that's your inner brat talking. The inner brat also says things like:

"But I really want it! Let's use the credit card!"

"This one piece of cake won't hurt me."

"I don't feel like going to the gym. I want to watch TV."

"I don't have time to hang up my coat. I'll just throw it here on the chair and get it later."

The inner brat always wants to do fun and interesting things. The inner brat doesn't have the time or patience or attention span to do anything boring or difficult.

But when we force the inner brat to behave, the inner brat just rebels and is all the worse as soon as the drudgery is over, often undoing whatever the adult is trying to do.

"I was good all day and didn't cheat. Now I get some ice cream!"

"I haven't bought anything for myself in a long time. I deserve something really special."

"Okay, I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. It's not fair that I have to tidy the living room too, so I won't do it."

So I happened on this site called The Brat Factor where the motto seems to be "If it isn't fun, it won't get done." Interesting concept! And it certainly makes sense.

Right now, my inner brat is insisting that I putz around on the computer instead of tidying the house. I want to tidy the house because tomorrow the decks are cleared so that I can paint my daughter's bedroom, once and for all. That will be my Christmas present to my daughter and to myself!