HBR article “In Praise of Extreme Moderation” spoke to me this morning. This is an article that will resonate with every one of us regardless of where we fall; moderate or extreme. It calls out the new norm of practicing extremism in all that we do. It calls out the “new” need to do everything to a level of excess. Earning badges of courage and worthiness is where we find our value in today’s society. A society that reveres everyone as “something” whatever the label or title. A new world where competitiveness is a label that has become the norm and when lacking it speaks to ones drive, or lack thereof.
We are swept up in extremism so easily as companies push their products and services as only best consumed in excess. The tell us to:
- Only write if you have an audience and are working on a bestseller.
- Only run if you can get a PR every time and not only win a medal but rank.
- Only eat what you are prescribed via a specific diet and track to prove you are doing it.
- Post everything you do publicly as proof that you are doing what you say you are and therefore validating.
It is so easy to sucked into this way of living, or at least attempted living. It is maddening when we are in it and it is reckless when we are not.
The article brings us back to what is “enough”. When is enough enough. That is as personal a decision as it is public. It is when one-by-one we start removing the value assigned to extremes. It stops when we applaud those living in the middle and calm the accolades around those that are pushing the bar so far that reaching for it threatens everything you are if you don’t land on top.
The best way to conclude is to quote the author who sums it up perfectly.
But I have spent a lifetime honing my daily practice, worshipping at the altar of “good enough.” Today, I am neither superrich nor superfit nor supersuccessful. But I have just enough of each to qualify in my own personal marathon, the race for a balanced life. In the end, maybe this only really matters to me and my dog, who does get a lot of good walks out of it. To me, that’s enough. – Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
https://hbr.org/2018/06/in-praise-of-extreme-moderation
Live as I live it – L.
Always Starting...The Art of Never Giving Up 
Beautiful sentiments Lori! I worked so hard to make a name for myself and garnish accolades during my career as an academic scientist. Mostly all I got was a lot of pain. I would have been better advised to work just for the sheer joy of working. Frankly, I probably wouldn’t have survived that way in today’s academic culture either. Now I do try to work just for the joy of it. I have a lot more time to do just the things I want. Still, that worrying need for notation seeps into my consciousness far too often. Thanks for the reminder.
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