It's all...or it's nothing...

My attitude towards pretty much everything in life falls into one of two categories: all or nothing.

I either exercise to the hilt, logging many miles on the treadmill...or I sit on the couch and watch 4 hours of NCIS.

I either put away every single penny I earn above paying bills in savings...or I spend every spare penny on it on splurge purchases.

I either answer every email in my in box...or let them pile up by the dozen.

I either stick my diet, to the letter...or go face down in a vat of cookie dough and/or ice cream, until it is all gone.

I either launder every item of laundry in my hamper...or let them take over the entire closet for weeks to the point where the closet stinks too much to enter without a gas mask.

I either return a phone call right away...or let it go for weeks, until it's too embarrassing to actually call without having some sort of hospital stay to blame the lapse on.

I either write every day, diligently...or let days and days lapse with ideas churning in my head, without getting them down anywhere.

Moderation is something I have heard about, read about, seen in movies...but I lack any real experience with it. I heard said at a meeting recently: "Balance is something I rush past as I run from extreme to extreme." I related to that more than I care to admit.

My greatest wish for the next year or two is to experience satisfaction in imperfection. On Tuesday, I didn't have the usual 45 minutes that I usually like to devote to the times that I do get on the treadmill - I had 24 minutes. I was very proud of myself for not throwing in the towel, and deciding not to do anything - instead I got on the treadmill, and walked slowly for 24 minutes. For the rest of the day, I felt like a champ - I didn't do it "all", but it was better than "nothing".

I am going to try to look for more opportunities to do that. Would it be better to put $100 in savings than to blow all of it because I can't put in the $500 I was hoping to? Duh. Could I feel better about my closet if I did one load of laundry today? Yup...something is better than "nothing". Is every blog post I write going to be the modern day equivalent of Aristotle? Probably not. Is writing something better than "nothing"? Absolutely.

What could you do today in moderation that would make life better than "nothing"?