You have heard it a million times before, "Everything in Moderation". So, what is the deal with that slogan?
First, it is imperative to understand this statement from a foundational aspect. When considering the phrase "Everything in Moderation", most people associate it with consuming junk food, shopping without common sense, watching television and much more! The first issue is with the fact that moderation can not be measured quantifiably because moderation is always subjective.
For example, this slogan is most commonly associated with food consumption. People will typically eat a food item, that society and the diet industry has deemed, a "bad" food and rationalize in their head, that it is okay in moderation. This is mindset has many flaws. Moreover, viewing something as "bad" creates a toxic mindset in the person who is trying to use the slogan as justification for doing something "wrong".
When it comes to other uses of the slogan such as retail therapy (spending money at retail stores to fill a void in oneself), the same thought process in present. The person is justifying doing something "wrong" in small doses. The issue is not the slogan itself but with the thought process because going shopping occasionally is not necessarily wrong.
To further explain depriving oneself of something is almost always correlation to over indulging later on the same thing. For example, if you tell yourself you are not going to watch television for 7 days because television is "bad" for you. It is very possible that you will do this successfully but then you will binge watch hours of television on day 8. Did you solve any void within yourself? Most likely not.
People have convinced themselves that they can do things that are societally problematic with the mindset of moderation. Although I agree with the idea of not restricting yourself from any of life's gifts, the slogan is typically misconstrued by people and executed poorly. In addition, the slogan categorizes things into "good" versus "bad" which almost always gives people feelings of guilt and shame regardless of if they have done this "moderately". This will almost always set one up for failure, as they are constantly labeling life's moments and joys as "right" or "wrong".
As a Life Skills Educator, I believe the most successful mindset is to live in the moment and enjoy life's gifts using your toolbox of life skills. Live your life based on your experiences not on a slogan with surrounding guilt and shame.
- Hope Kiehl
USOA Miss New Jersey 2023
Leading a Lifetime of Life Skills
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