One factor that has always been a guiding principle in my decisions and actions is whether it is a balanced approach or an extremist approach.
A few years back, I had attended a workshop. The main reason why I couldn't resonate with many of the points of the speaker was that they all originated from an extremist mindset. They neither were practical to implement nor they came from a place of self-love and self-acceptance. While doing the workshop, I had inadvertently caught up on some of the ideas but I'm glad I didn't take them forward. No regrets about doing that workshop. I consider it as a way by which life showed me what I don't want and what is my preferred principle to evaluate life choices.
Balance has always been that guiding light ever since childhood.
As I reflected, I'm not the kind of person who would push myself hard during exams. I never pulled all-nighters. I would do late-night studying only until around 11:30PM during exams. I wouldn't sift through pages till 9:59AM before the bell strikes for the exam. Of course, planning and studying used to happen way before the exams, so that helped me cruise through without taking too much pressure toward the end.
As I started to relook at my food habits, I never aimed for hitting 100% perfection. I'm a vegetarian all these years and I don't have plans to convert to veganism. I still enjoy my morning cup of chai (on an empty stomach) though it is considered an unhealthy habit. I enjoy Indian sweets but in moderation. A few weeks back, I relished a plate of hot jalebi dunked in a mud pot of chilled rabdi !! Heaven, it was!!🙂 Food is not only a source of energy with the right combination of nutrients, but it is also a source of pleasure. All we need is to hit the right balance between functional and hedonic use.
Balance helps us to lead our lives without getting caught in the trap of comparison, guilt, shame, and self-criticism. Be it simple choices related to food, content consumption, or social media, and to complex ones like careers, parenting decisions, homeschooling vs traditional school education, balance has been my guiding light.
Social media is filled with extreme advocacy. Extreme ideas grab our attention because they make us feel curious to know how the other person is managing to lead such a lifestyle. When we look deeper, extreme ideologies cause more harm than good.
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