Too Much of a Good Thing
Too much of a good thing? Golden Mean, Middle Way, Hedonic Adaptation + Mule & Tightrope
There is such a thing as: too much of a good thing.
We know this:
Too much food
Too much work
Too much rest
Too much choice
Too much exercise
Too much volunteering
Too much doing
Too much being
We know this intuitively and practically from our lives.
The opposite is moderation and balance.
That idea has deep philosophical roots:
Golden Mean: For Aristotle virtue lies between extremes: the 'Golden Mean'. Take the virtue of courage: too much of it becomes recklessness, too little becomes cowardice.
Middle Way: Buddhism talks of the 'Middle Way' to achieve a harmonious life, and that attachment to even something positive can lead to suffering.
Hedonic adaptation: From psychology we know about hedonic adaptation: after a positive (or negative) experience we quickly return to our previous, relatively stable baseline level of satisfaction. Pursuing happiness, especially through pleasures like food or cat videos, puts us on a treadmill of seeking new experiences.
To master moderation & balance takes life experience, practice and reflection.
On my way, I've found two metaphors really helpful - they come from creative problem-solving and the book 'Both-And-Thinking':
1) The Mule: You creatively integrate competing demands. You create a hybrid. For example:
You have a hybrid work model of remote work plus set days of in-person collaboration/teaming in the office.
You decide top-down on urgent questions that cannot be solved by the team, but create an inclusive deliberation with the team on strategic, long-term questions.
2) The Tightrope Walker: You live with consistent inconsistency. You zoom out of the moment and balance over time. For example:
You work hard and a lot to deliver an important project, and then dial down or take a break.
You push for quick, innovative solutions early on in your project and then focus on quality and integration later on.
In your life, where do you have too much of a good thing?
And how could a 'mule' or 'tightrope' solution look like?
🎙️ My latest podcast
New episode out with Felix Sproll, municipal councillor in Munich for Volt Europa.
We talk about:
🤝 Getting things done in local politics
🇪🇺 Local <> European politics
🚨 Handling hate/threats
🙏 Being honest
📚 What I read & listen to
Donald Hoffman, cognitive psychologist and author of 'The Case Against Reality' shares a mind-boggling idea:
"Ignorance of reality can aid command of reality"
Trying to understand reality may get in the way of managing reality.
We are successful in evolutionary terms, not because we understand reality but because we can cope with & adapt to it.
Example: You do not need to know the mechanics of a computer or the software of Outlook to send an email. Trying to understand the reality behind the email icon gets in the way of sending an email.
Our senses and perceptions of the world have evolved to help us survive, not to understand reality - and the two are not necessarily linked!
Here's a longer interview 👇, but if the idea resonates with you, it's definitely worth a watch. Here is a scientist who's also a great communicator:
🖋️ My favourite quote
"Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.
For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.
Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it."
- Viktor Frankl