If it were a prize fight, which would go down for the count and which would remain standing?
I ask because this is the never-ending battle that I fight in my own head on a daily basis. There is never one consistently clear winner. Probably because I have the discipline to rationalize just about anything, so it's hard to tell which one truly gets the victory.
A few weeks ago, for example, I was doing a six mile run. Slowly (see earlier blogs). I haven't been training for anything of late, so my running isn't what I'd call at its peak. But really, six miles. Doable. Slowly.
As I start to get a bit tired around mile three, discipline whispers "keep going--you know you are capable of this--don't let yourself down".
Rationalization screams (why is rationalization always screaming?) "you love to run for the fun of it--if you're tired just take a little walk break and start again--that way you'll keep enjoying it".
Both excellent points. Which is the better point? (as a side note, I kept running on this one)
As another example, the act of getting dinner on the table: actual meal or scavenge night?
Discipline dictates that a meal consisting of a main dish, a vegetable and perhaps a second side dish like a salad find its way to the table on a somewhat regular basis in a household with growing children and a hard-working husband (although at this point we are down to just me and a retired but still hard-working husband, unless the kids happen to be home).
Rationalization, however, gently but very persuasively (and far too often) suggests that there's lots of food in that kitchen, and don't family members deserve to take it all under consideration, decide for themselves what they want and when they want it, and make their own meal so it's just what they like? Plus (Rationalization continues, without taking a breath) that allows for the food already in the fridge and pantry to get used up instead of languishing there, perhaps to be thrown away if it sits uneaten too long...(Rationalization is much, much better at guilt trips than Discipline, but you know this already don't you?).
Not that you need a third example of the push-and-pull that goes on inside my head constantly (and you're thinking to yourself, well that explains a lot about Kim...), but soda. Specifically diet soda. I eat generally very healthily (is that a word?). I have better than average discipline when it comes to my eating habits. I do not, however, have that discipline when it comes to drinking diet soda. I can rationalize that since it's my one bad (daily) habit, it's allowed. If allowing myself a soda a day allows me to wake up happy and ready to take on the day, then it's excusable. Soda is my coffee, I rationalize. You try waking up without your coffee! It enables my discipline. And yet I still feel like perhaps I should have the discipline to give up the rationalization. So here's my compromise on the soda issue: I have the discipline to drink just one (rationalized) soda a day.
So I throw it out there-- is there a hard and fast rule about which contender should prevail?
Discipline seems to connote something positive, as if you're working towards a goal; Rationalization seems to conjure up the idea of getting out of working towards a goal.
And yet...
Isn't Rationalization how we give ourselves a break when we need one? I mean, if I'm just going to be plain old lazy, I'm not even going to bother to rationalize it--too much work. But if I'm over-worked (damn you Discipline!), then I might just need some sort of reasonable framework to convince myself that taking a break won't be the end of the world and might just be good for me.
Perhaps over a cup of coffee (or a nice Pepsi Max), you can ponder which side you come down on...
As another example, the act of getting dinner on the table: actual meal or scavenge night?
Discipline dictates that a meal consisting of a main dish, a vegetable and perhaps a second side dish like a salad find its way to the table on a somewhat regular basis in a household with growing children and a hard-working husband (although at this point we are down to just me and a retired but still hard-working husband, unless the kids happen to be home).
Rationalization, however, gently but very persuasively (and far too often) suggests that there's lots of food in that kitchen, and don't family members deserve to take it all under consideration, decide for themselves what they want and when they want it, and make their own meal so it's just what they like? Plus (Rationalization continues, without taking a breath) that allows for the food already in the fridge and pantry to get used up instead of languishing there, perhaps to be thrown away if it sits uneaten too long...(Rationalization is much, much better at guilt trips than Discipline, but you know this already don't you?).
Not that you need a third example of the push-and-pull that goes on inside my head constantly (and you're thinking to yourself, well that explains a lot about Kim...), but soda. Specifically diet soda. I eat generally very healthily (is that a word?). I have better than average discipline when it comes to my eating habits. I do not, however, have that discipline when it comes to drinking diet soda. I can rationalize that since it's my one bad (daily) habit, it's allowed. If allowing myself a soda a day allows me to wake up happy and ready to take on the day, then it's excusable. Soda is my coffee, I rationalize. You try waking up without your coffee! It enables my discipline. And yet I still feel like perhaps I should have the discipline to give up the rationalization. So here's my compromise on the soda issue: I have the discipline to drink just one (rationalized) soda a day.
So I throw it out there-- is there a hard and fast rule about which contender should prevail?
Discipline seems to connote something positive, as if you're working towards a goal; Rationalization seems to conjure up the idea of getting out of working towards a goal.
And yet...
Isn't Rationalization how we give ourselves a break when we need one? I mean, if I'm just going to be plain old lazy, I'm not even going to bother to rationalize it--too much work. But if I'm over-worked (damn you Discipline!), then I might just need some sort of reasonable framework to convince myself that taking a break won't be the end of the world and might just be good for me.
Perhaps over a cup of coffee (or a nice Pepsi Max), you can ponder which side you come down on...
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