"Everything in moderation, including moderation." - Oscar Wilde (also, Benjamin Franklin, Apollo, Publius Terentius Afer...)
I like this phrase, partly because it helps me not obsess about sticking to the rules all the time and partly because eating an entire tub of Ben & Jerry's while watching Bravo Two Zero is totally part of a healthy lifestyle. There's also science to back this shit up.
I exercise daily and eat a healthy diet so I believe this allows me the occasional indulgence. Sometimes that's a large portion of sugar (90g is the Guideline Daily Amount) and sometimes I go to a gig and have as many pints as I want (14 units per week for men, (7 pints) is considered the maximum safe amount). It's strange that I say 'allow' as that implies someone else has the decision, I suppose what I really mean is 'not feel guilty'.
It's the 'not feeling guilty' that can really affect how and what you do. There's nothing more satisfying than having a beer/ice cream/(choose your poison) on a Saturday after a week of hard work, but that same beer after a week of slacking is significantly less pleasing. It's like rewarding yourself for mediocrity. The harder you work, the more pleasing you find your pleasures.
I used to be far lazier than I am now, and back then I did not see this point. It's only after I've put more effort into things that I realise not only can you derive pleasure from the work itself, but the rewards you allow yourself after and exponentially more betterer*, (and the outcome from the hard work is also greatly improved as opposed to slack work), It's win-win.
So, practice more and have a beer after the gig, work harder and go to that new restaurant at the weekend, go the extra round and pick-up a chocolate bar on the way home. Tell yourself that 'OK' is not good enough and then reward yourself for your accomplishments.
Or don't, do whatever you want.
Speak to you Friday,
Josh
p.s. I'm personally happy that I've managed to shoe horn Bravo Two Zero into a blog post because i'm totally not obsessed with it at all. If anyone wants to talk about that I'm down.
*it's not a word.