Extremism: the enemy of continual improvement
The main issue that prevents us from making meaningful, sustainable change in our lives is our inclination to be extreme. Not just in our political views, but also in our day-to-day life.
‘You can drink yourself to death with water.’
Water is good for you, but if you drink too much of it, you can potentially die. Too much of a good thing is bad. Equally, too much of a bad thing can be fatal.
Rigidity — Flexibility
Maintaining a set of habits requires that you care enough to keep on doing them. There seems to be this tendency to beat ourselves to death with guilt, which we do whenever we fail to complete every single activity on our list. We often forget the ultimate purpose of why we build systems or structures in the first place. We build them to fit our present tendencies and change them over time if they no longer serve us, not the other way around. Do you believe that showing your emotion to others is weakness?
In order for a system to thrive, you must allow for flexibility. But, too much flexibility has the capacity to weaken the foundational requirements for a system or structure to remain viable. For instance, in our diet, we tell ourselves that eating in moderation is good. But, we don’t really define or confine ourselves to what moderation looks like. Thus, we tend to just go for the perceived average of how much we eat of a particular type of food. With no accountability, we go back to our guilt induced mastication and ingestion of awful, but tastes so good, foods. Is your integrity intact?
Compartmentalization — One Dimensional
Separating our lives into neat, organized sections often lead to the stunting of our perception and perspective. We revel in our ability to keep things together by maintaining the ‘different’ aspect of our lives separate. The problem is, life is not like doing laundry. We can’t neatly keep the light pile separate from the dark pile. I suppose you could, but sooner or later you will realize how you’ve become confused and unable to understand where your life is heading. Do you feel as if you do not know who you are?
Equally detrimental is ignoring internal thoughts that make up our daily lives and the external ideas we encounter everyday. Both aspect of our existence are the reason we are forced to continually question our choices. Being one dimensional has its advantages when it place great emphasis on ensuring that every part of our being is well attended. Emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental aspects of our lives should be considered if we don’t want to vacillate between clarity of purpose and existential crisis. Is judging others a recurring thought or action in your daily life?
Too Much — Too Little
When is enough enough in a world were instant gratification comes in the form of porn, video games, social media, alcoholism, drug abuse, physical abuse, and on and on and on. If you can’t manage yourself, who will? There’s a balance and our job is to find it. We are forevermore trapped in our freedom to choose. Existentialism can be a bitch. Do you blindly seek pleasure until it turns into pain?
Equally detrimental to our character is denying ourselves even the simplest of pleasures. Our long term goals should be considered, but we must remain cognizant of our mortality. Enjoy moments of respite and feel free to try new things. Without giving ourselves the freedom to be who we truly are, we become unforgiving of ourselves and others. Do you experience enough joy in your life?
Order — Disorder
Our brains are predisposed to seek order and predictability. It is essential to our survival. Equally, in order to expand and build new neurological pathways called Myelin (ensures that electric signals in our brains are maintained and transmitted — brainFacts.org)we must engage with new, confusing ideas. Luckily, as Albert Camus states, “when an individual’s longing for order collides with the real world’s lack of order, the result is absurdity.” In accordance with Camus’ observation, we are fools if we even try to control every aspect of our lives. Do you waste time trying to get everything perfect?
Disorder comes in many shapes and intensities. In nature, our mere presence disrupts the natural flow of an ecosystem. Since the domestication of animals and the invention of agriculture, our existence became removed from nature. In our day-to-day life, the choices of others present us with the never ending task of interpreting and making our own decisions based on those externalities. Yet, we have the capacity to embrace disorder, unwittingly giving up our ability to choose what to choose. Is chaos the main driver of your life?
Tension — Release
Too much tension can cause us to break under pressure. We operate within the premise that being strong requires us to be rigid. We then walk around like we are holding a fart. Never knowing the sweet release. Anyway, when we hold on to problems or grudges it causes our body to be trapped in one place, unable to move. How we feel affects our physical state. Are you wanting to constantly be in control?
On the other side, too much relaxation and release can easily lead us to break apart. We become like water unable to control our form, relying on others to determine our choices and fate. Allowing ourselves to be trapped in a never ending cycle of being controlled, never taking a stand for who we want to be. Without the appropriate amount of tension, a suspension bridge collapses — goodbye golden gate bridge and say goodbye to your dreams. What is the opportunity cause of not willing ourselves to move?
Spectrum
A lot of things in our world seem to exist within a spectrum. Not so much in a clean black and white configuration. Knowing where we stand is important, but having the insight and will to continually adjust our place within each respective spectrum is equally vital. Extremism in whatever we try to do can often lead to suffering in numerous ways. So I urge you to adjust the needle so you may find the sweet spot to becoming a more wholesome human being.
The path towards a more wholesome life is a path of constant and brutally honest self-reflection. We must keep ourselves open, if we desire to learn more about what makes us human. It is our ability to be authentic that allows us to connect. Keep observing, within and without to discover new perspectives that can help us become closer and experience the divine.
Recommend
Thank you for making it down here. Please share, respond, or give a clap. I would love to hear any feedback. You’re the best! Love on…
Connect with me here: @ejersonb