FINDING BALANCE: THE ELUSIVE GOLDEN MEAN
Carole Carson
Moderation, or balance, has never been my strong suit. I’ve always subscribed to the notion that if a little is good, more is better. To paraphrase Mae West, “Too much of a good thing is wonderful.”
A disinclination, even distaste, for moderation and balance (I preferred the thrill of risk-taking) has been my downfall on more than one occasion. Evidently, I’m not alone.
Look around. Do you know anyone whose bills are all paid and who has money to spare? Whose children turned out perfectly? Whose body is the ideal shape and weight? Who successfully balances work and play? Who has plenty of private time, with an active social life and is committed to public service? And who, as an aside, maintains a disciplined daily exercise regimen?
Aren’t We All a Little Out of Whack?
More likely, you know a parent working so hard she has no time to exercise. Or you know a man who spends his leisure time in front of the television, snack in hand, racking up pounds. Or perhaps you have a friend who lives for the Internet chat room, eyes glued to the computer monitor.
How about the person who can’t resist credit cards and is constantly in debt? Or the woman who gives so much to her family that she has precious little left to replenish her own batteries? Or the person who drinks to excess, thereby endangering his own health and others’ safety?
Or the adrenaline junkie who consumes caffeine, nicotine and sugar to keep jump-starting the autonomic nervous system to keep “up” all the time rather than give in to the body’s need for rest? Or the dieter who starves herself in the daytime only to binge at night while the family is sleeping?
How about the narcissistic exercise fanatic who has an anxiety attack if she misses a day at the gym? Or the tennis player who compulsively spends most waking hours on the courts, trying to perfect the imperfectible?
In all of these instances, to quote my grandmother, something is seriously “out of whack.”
Balance Is the Key
Whether the goal is losing weight, becoming fit or simply enjoying life, we all know that balance is the key. Respected nutritional advice, as opposed to the current fads, always involves moderation—consistently eating small amounts and regularly spaced meals with a variety of protein, fruits, vegetables and grains. Some of us have learned the hard way that crash diets boomerang into weight gain.
Balance is essential to an exercise regimen as well. Based on everything I’ve read, plus my own experience, I’ve concluded that three exercise elements need to be present: (1) aerobic, such as running or tennis, (2) strength, such as lifting weights, and (3) stretching, like yoga.
Moderation in All Things
I favor tennis, so initially I neglected strength training. Working out in a gym with weights was foreign. Moreover, I positively hated stretching and had to learn to appreciate yoga. Being stationary and breathing consciously or standing balanced as a tree was tough. With guidance, I learned to appreciate how the three exercise elements complement each other and, when combined, create a fitness synergy that each cannot accomplish on its own.
Even within the three elements, however, moderation is necessary. Strength training, for example, is more effective when spaced—a day working out followed by a day of rest or alternating muscle groups on different days. Stretching exercises are cumulative—a little progress each time is far more effective than forcing a move. Every sports injury I’ve suffered was a consequence of trying to do too much too soon. Moderation would have served my body far better.
While the need for moderation is obvious, it is also frustratingly unachievable. Like an object that moves farther away the closer we get to it, balance is an abstract ideal that escapes our grasp.
Aim, Fire and Make Corrections
We can aim for balance and make corrections when we feel imbalanced. We can counsel family members and friends when we see them going off on a tangent. The unfortunate truth is that there’s no “there.” We can only hold the concept as an ideal, to be practiced as best we can, with continuous corrections required.
On a scale from hopelessly imbalanced to perfectly centered, I’m not at the bottom, but I’m only a few rungs up, with occasional forays back down. When I get off track (and I frequently do), I ask myself two questions. First, what am I doing that I need to eliminate or reduce? Second, what do I need to add to my life or do more of? Answering the questions requires ruthless self-honesty followed by execution of changes. Knowing what to change is essential but remains insufficient without action.
I’ll never master the dynamics of balance. I’ll always fall on one side of the scale or the other. All I can do is enjoy the benefits of the ongoing effort and make corrections as quickly as I can.
