A Case For Bad Habits
Take a breath, now inhale, and let it all out. No, I’m not talking about breathing meditation. That was a quick guide on how to smoke. Here’s an alternative guide to living your best life that I would like to proffer, lean in and embrace some of your ‘bad habits’.
There is far too much guilt going on in regards to –not– doing things that is detrimental to your health. I’m here to make a case for doing the things that soothe your mind and heart. There’s a pandemic going on, for crying out loud — so to all of the individuals out there expecting infinite growth, with no rest, more power to you. But, I’m here to represent the common folk. The people who are happy being content, and need a break from the daily grind.
Of course, I’m not here to be an enabler for the decay of our productivity in exchange for pure hedonism. I’d like to repeat: everything in moderation. What I am here to say is that you are doing just fine if you have chosen to lean into your routine of pleasure seeking.
Human growth is not a constant positive linear trajectory
It’s a facade to think that every individual out there is consistently doing only the best things for themselves — all of the time, every day. That there is a type of individual that is eating only the best, most organic, least processed types of food: maybe there is, majority of people are not, I know I’m not.
It’s a major misunderstanding to buy into the belief that the ones who showcase an active fitness lifestyle are consistently working out and making gains every single day. Some of the best athletes I know consistently tell me about how the mental fatigue of not resting or changing up their routine eventually leads to fitness burnout. What that looks like is this: working out habitually, but not enjoying the process — it becomes self flagellating.
Let me say this: growth on a scale that only occurs on a positive slope is a possibility that nobody should strive for. This might be is the stretch-goal that corporations abide by. It might also be the mantra that world-champions live by — for a finite amount of time.
Corporations have money in the bank to support their capitalistic mindset. World champions have a competitive performance day they work towards — after that, anything goes.
The concept of consistently ramping up and only doing things that are sold under fanciful catchphrases like ‘optimize your life’, ‘growth mindset’, ‘no pain no gain”, they are designed in a way to grab your attention and motivate you in a direction. If your mind and heart is not going in that direction, the work you put in will not optimize your life as promised.
It is why we have words to describe the soul-sucking, energy draining states that we may find ourselves in. Words like burnout, anxiety, or trauma. Because we are doing things against our own will, do we not only end up feeling more hopeless, we also create a state of cognitive dissonance.
Social media has sold you a lie
Here’s one for the history books: remember the era where social media became everybody’s newsfeed, and you could pick and choose how to portray your own reality?
Social media is a great way to remain connected, but to believe that it’s showcasing each and every individual’s truest self is a blatant lie you are telling to yourself.
Platforms such as Instagram have become a playground for influencers, small businesses, and self-employed to flourish. So don’t you go and get an individual’s brand confused with their life! Insofar as content goes, once it’s out there, it’s there to stay. But that content is a snippet of a moment in time. The time-continuum continues, and outside of that moment, your favourite influencers will make life decisions that very well may be the complete opposite of what their brand portrays.
Do your worst and enjoy it
In times of deep stress, allow yourself the room to indulge a little. The time to revel in activities that soothe your body, mind, and heart might just be now! We have a history of engaging in behaviours that may not be in our best interest for our future selves. Maybe we are losing sleep over video games or a show. Whatever it may be, the forms of social activities that we used to do in order to flush our mind and body with dopamine or serotonin has been limited due to the lockdown.
So go binge eat if it makes you feel better. Indulge your occasional drinking habit. Be a couch potato and watch an entire series on Netflix, Crave, Prime, or whatever choice streaming service. Just do yourself a favour: try to remain aware of your pleasure seeking — there is a fine line between self-indulging, and self-destructing.
