A Life in Moderation
Modern medical science has revealed that almost every food can be good for us--if we indulge in moderation. But moderation can be good for you in all aspects of your life.
Most of us have over-indulged in food, drink, or shopping at some time. Our response is often to try to completely eliminate the offending items or behaviors from our diet or lifestyle. But when we try to exclude something from our lives cold turkey, we often pay an emotional price. That’s why most nutritionists recommend moderation instead.
They realize that if we resent giving something up, we may not be able to maintain a healthy way of living. Too many people fail on crash diets after a very short period of time and end up gaining back any weight they may have lost. Instead, nutritionists suggest gradual changes that let us gain confidence in our ability to get in shape and develop healthy eating habits over time.
This moderate approach can also be incorporated into other parts of our lives as well, especially at work. We have all seen the Energizer Bunny types at work. They start off with a great burst of steam but peter out just as quickly. Major corporations have realized this phenomenon as well, and many of them encourage employees to start their work a little slower and build up experience and stamina as they learn how to work not just faster, but more effectively as well.
Working late every day or working every weekend may be great for our personal sense of accomplishment, but without time to regenerate our bodies as well as our minds, we will eventually run out of gas. We need downtime away from work to nurture ourselves and connect with our families and communities. A relaxing, rejuvenating weekend will make us better workers when we come back into the office.
Moderation is really about keeping ourselves in balance, and it applies to all aspects of our lives: mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. We need to acknowledge and look after all parts of ourselves if we are going to be happy and healthy human beings. If any aspect is out of balance, it’s like the wobbly leg on our kitchen table--sooner or later it will cause the table to fall over.
Living in moderation doesn’t mean we can allow ourselves to be slow or lazy. That is just tipping the balance too far in the opposite direction. Living our lives in moderation is not boring either. It actually means we can have the best of both worlds at home and at work. We just can’t have the second piece of pie. But that’s no reason we can’t absolutely and completely enjoy the first.
