I've always been told about the virtues of moderation. You know, everything in moderation, they say. But honestly, I've always been a little skeptical about that idea. You see, my take is that it's not just about doing things in moderation. It's about ensuring that you are thriving across all essential dimensions, be it spiritual, physical, mental or volitional.
Moderation is often a blanket term that folks use to justify their vices. For instance, instead of quitting alcohol completely, they'd rather say, "I'll just have one drink a day." It's almost as if the term is being misused as an excuse to avoid taking a step up, a way to justify why they're not putting an end to an unhealthy habit.
In my experience, there's a stark contrast between being 99% committed to ending a bad habit and being 100% committed. And I wholeheartedly believe that it's worth going the whole nine yards when it comes to eliminating harmful things from your life.
Personally, I admit, I lean towards the more addictive side, but isn't addiction a part of human nature? Our society has designed products, websites, and entertainment to be as addictive as possible, aiming to hook us in as repeat consumers. That's just how the market works.
And therein lies the problem. If you give yourself even a 1% leeway for these addictive behaviors, you run the risk of slipping down that rabbit hole again.
That's why I've committed to saying an outright no to certain things, like pornography. It's a struggle, and I don't always succeed, but I'm steadfast with my resolution. And with alcohol, I've managed to maintain a strong no. The same goes for meat, where my success in abstaining is progressively increasing.
This all-or-nothing approach has been a real blessing. Life is filled with temptations, they're lurking at every corner, especially when you're bored. That's when the devil tempts you with just one drink or just a quick peek at a porn site. It's a slippery slope from there to spiraling back into old habits.
This is why I say moderation is overrated, at least when it comes to these harmful behaviors. Moderating your vices can simply be an excuse to hold onto them. Instead, I believe we should strive to cut them out of our lives entirely. It's tough, yes, but definitely worthwhile in the long run.