The Power of Moderation
By Dr. Joan F. Marques
If you allow yourself you can drive everything to the extreme. Most of
the time that’s not a good idea. Even the pleasant things in life become
hazardous when applied excessively. Some examples? Excessive eating can
lead to obesity, excessive dieting to anorexia; excessive partying to
empty pockets, excessive working to stress; excessive traveling to
alienation of loved ones, and excessive home-boundness to boredom.
The art of living may very well lie in finding the right balance between
all extremes that are offered to us. Seen in that light, successful
living could easily be defined as applying the right degree of
moderation. “The right degree” is a very subjective amount, though,
because it will vary from one person to another, depending on variables
such as age, environment, preferences, and in many cases also financial
capacity.
All of the above may seem pretty straightforward when merely reading it,
and perhaps even unnecessary to mention, but it is far more difficult to
apply once you really get confronted with the choices in life. We often
get overzealous when we engage in enthralling activities, and lose touch
with our rational side until it’s too late and the damage is hard to
repair.
The other day I was visiting Las Vegas and found myself in a crowd of
people staring at the ceiling over Fremont Street. Those of you who have
been to Las Vegas know how high the top of this fancy street overarch
really is. There, on the top, stood a man, and the rumor went that he was
about to jump in an attempt to commit suicide. Why? He had gotten out of
touch with his sense of moderation and lost a large sum of money through
gambling. More money than he could justify – so his only way out seemed
to end it all.
This example may illustrate how difficult it is to remain moderate when
we face fascinating temptations. Our specific area of weakness determines
what we should be overly cautious about. If we like eating, we should
instate alert mechanisms in that area. If it’s gambling, dieting,
partying, working, drinking, smoking, or anything else that we are overly
zealous in, we should do the same with those. How? Here’s an idea:
1.. First determine your zone of weakness. You may very well find more
than one. Most people do.
2.. Determine what you consider “moderation” in this area. What level
should you apply to stay out of physical, psychological, legal, or
spiritual trouble? Consider this when you are sober and not around or in
desperate need of your object of weakness. So, for instance, don’t
determine what is moderate in eating if you are hungry.
3.. Set a time frame to your self-determined moderation. Your time
frame could be a day, a week, a month, or a year. If you want to moderate
your smoking, for instance, determine how many cigarettes you consider
reasonable per day.
4.. Decide on a control mechanism. If you feel strong enough to
moderate yourself, write down your resolution and keep track of your
actions. If you feel that you need external help, identify a buddy of
whom you’re willing to accept advise – and stick to it.
5.. Evaluate your achievements regularly. Monthly may be the best way
to go for most weaknesses.
As you may have concluded by now, it’s not as easy as it seems to
moderate ourselves. The numbers of obese and anorexic people, excessive
smokers, drug-, alcohol-, and gambling addicts, workaholics and other
excessive performers attest to this fact. Moderation, once achieved, is a
private but very rewarding victory – and can make a difference like day
or night about our self-perception.
About the author:
Dr. Joan Marques is a professor of business and management, and
co-founder/board member of the Business Renaissance Institute. She has
authored 2 books on the topics of Leadership and Global Awareness, and is
currently working on two additional ones on Workplace Spirituality, and
Leadership. She regularly co-organizes workshops for business and
non-profit organizations in Los Angeles.
Visit my website at: www.joanmarques.com
It is better to live in serene poverty than in hectic affluence.
Everything has a price. The price for nurturing your soul is turning away
from excessive stress, destruction of self-respect, and the constant
strive in lifestyle with the Joneses. But it’s worth it.