Moderation in all things, including moderation

Moderation in all things, including moderation – Oscar Wilde

I don’t think another motivational quote has and will impact my life as much as this one. I think the last one was probably “In the land where only blind people live, if you have one eye, you are king” (translated from Portuguese, no worries, brazilians get it).

This phrase came at a very crucial time as well, just recently divorced, moved across the world, and looking for a new start. I was consuming enormous amounts of self-improvement content and kind of going crazy on the “I need to be better train”

I love this phrase so much because it really touched on something I feel like I was running from my life up to that point: risk.

Always being moderate, always doing the correct and most efficient way. Always worried about not extrapolating or being/doing too much.

I feel like I missed some great rewards and experiences for just being plain. I felt that if I took more risks, partied a little harder that one weekend, or let myself go a couple of times, it would have been ok.

I think this phrase is so powerful because it applies to everything. Sure, eating salad and making sure you always get your fiber, exercising constantly and moderating on the amount of sugar you consume is the rule of thumb for life. But the once a year anime watch party at the apartment with Spencer and David, eating about 2000 calories of empty carbs and ultra-processed crap is what I really remember fondly of those days.