What if moderation were the new normal?

Image by fatii_010 from Pixabay

Lately, I’ve been pining for and (sometimes) practicing moderation. Not too much. Not too little. Just enough. But it’s really hard. Most places I look I see a society of extremes. Extreme politics. Extreme wealth (and poverty). Extreme diets. Extreme sports. 

It’s extremely frustrating because for all the breakthroughs in human health and happiness…everything always seems to circle back to moderation. I once read that happiness doesn’t increase proportionately when an adult makes more than $70,000 a year. (Not adjusted for inflation or location, obviously.) Michael Pollan famously tells people to “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”  Even the 10,000 steps a day thing is not much of a thing according to Geriatrician Dr. Philip Solomon.

“That's not to discourage someone and say stop at 4,000 or stop at 5,000, but if you're at 9,900 or 10,000 it's not a huge difference that we're at least aware of in terms of benefits.”

If there is ample evidence that moderation is good…shouldn’t it be more popular? 

To be fair, the extreme is by far more compelling to the human attention span. Millions of viewers are not tuning in to watch athletes increase their heart rate for 20 minutes and then follow it with some restorative stretching.

I also imagine there aren’t a lot of followers for an influencer who gets 8-hours of sleep, works 40 hours a week, and pays their bills on time.

There are no sexy short cuts or clever life hacks for moderation. To benefit from moderation it takes consistency and patience. 

I have access to a free physical therapy app through my health insurance, and it has been a nightmare trying to convince myself to use it regularly. All the exercises are just 10 to 15 minutes, so making time isn’t a problem, and they are absolutely within my physical ability. But that is what makes it hard for me to do it. It’s ONLY 10 or 15 minutes. It does NOT push my physical limits. What good could it possibly be doing? 

A lot. The answer for you playing along at home is: A LOT! But it never feels like enough, so I do nothing instead, which is stupid.

Moderation seems to have one extreme requirement: ignoring the extremes. And I’m here for it. I invite you to join me in advocating for moderation. 

What if moderation became the new normal? Moderation leaves us room to change our minds or adjust to new information and events. We can try things and then try more, or not. Moderation is sustainable and resilient. It is approachable and welcoming to others. Dare I say, moderation is inspiring.

I’ve been dabbling with eating a plant-based diet. I didn’t pitch all our meat in the freezer, I just started including more plant-based things throughout the week. 

I have been doing one (sometimes two) exercises on my health app every day. I don’t fuss over which one. Frankly, it usually depends on which part of me hurts that day. I just pick one and do it.

It was nice last weekend, so I went out and cut back the peonies. There is a lot of other yard work to be done, but the peonies are all set and that’s enough for now. Check!

I’m also trying to maintain a filter for moderation in what I pay attention to. I’ve unsubscribed to a number of podcasts and spend less time on social media. I look for content that is less shouty. 

Strong Towns is a great example. It is a national non-profit that empowers communities to make small incremental changes, observe what happens and then make more small incremental changes.

I’m also enjoying the podcast “Old School with Shilo Brooks,” where the host talks to people about books that changed their lives and why reading more will make us all better people.

What if we all agreed to do things in moderation. Not too much. Not too little. Just enough. What do you say?