Moderation

Getting off the teeter-totter of being all-in or all-out.

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Happy Monday everyone. Life is weird sometimes. Honestly, I’m still feeling like somedays it’s going just fine; I know what's happening around me and know what I want to be doing; then the next day life slaps me in the face and reminds me that I might not ever know what’s going on or what I want in life.

But, it’s cool, I’m learning to deal.

I think the only concept keeping me sane right now is realizing that life is about moderation. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that when committing to something new, I feel the need to be all-in.

For example, if I’m going to start working out and eating healthy, I feel like I have to commit and either go at it, full speed ahead, or not at all. Sometimes I even convince myself that eating one snickers or enjoying one IPA will ruin every ounce of progress I’ve made, so I might as well quit and start over another day.

Or when committing to writing a blog post every day for 30 days and realizing my work/fun-filled summer schedule and my creative mind just weren’t working together to accomplish this; I thought, jeesh I might as well give up on writing all-together because I clearly am not good at it.

Yeah, okay drama queen, chill the f out for a second.

I truly believe you should give things your best effort. But it’s important to realize that even if you aren’t all-in that doesn’t mean you have to be all-out. Finding the moderation in all that you do can help you reach your goals faster than the on again off again relationship you have with starting to achieve them.

Life gets busy sometimes. Everyone I know is adding more and more to their already busy schedules and then wondering why we fail at some of the goals we jot down at the beginning of the year. I think being honest with yourself, and with your schedule is the first step in actually achieving the goals you desire.

It’s important to stick to your commitments and not give up when you take a day off or when you have a minor setback. It’s also important to realize that while you’re working full-time, being a full-time student or parent or just being a busy human being, that you also have to find ways to enjoy life and actually live.

Find the moderation between fitting everything into your busy days and throwing the schedule and goal sheet out the window on Saturday afternoon to have a few margs with the girls. So what, it goes against the strict diet you’re trying, and so what that you fall behind on the laundry and dishes for a day, enjoy those moments and remember it’s not going to cause you to fail at whatever goal you are trying to reach.

Feeling like you can only accomplish something if you dedicate every waking minute to it is a surefire way of not learning anything or enjoying the process along the way. Learn to grow and become comfortable with moderation in every aspect of your life and see how much further you get on your goals and how much more you enjoy the process.