Day 229: On the Opportunity in Chaos
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.
When everything goes wrong, you might be tempted to think that everything is already lost. You’ve already made a mistake, you can’t go past the obstacles, the negative circumstances got the best of you.
There’s no denying the fact that chaos doesn’t make it easy to think logically. However, if you exert some willpower and force yourself to examine the situation without emotions clouding your judgment, you might discover new opportunities in the middle of chaos.
For example, if you’re on a diet and somehow one cheat meal turned into a week-long binge, you can conclude that everything is lost and give up. It’s the easy choice, but as we’ve already discussed on many occasions, easy choices are rarely the right ones.
The chaos that has ensued in your diet offers opportunities. For example, you can now jot down the thoughts you have when you gorge on unhealthy food after a long period of going without it. What makes you eat it? What’s the underlying motive? How can you satisfy your need for junk food without actually eating it?
If you’ve been following a healthy diet for several weeks, you can probably also notice the difference in how you feel after eating
crap. Whenever I spend a few days eating less healthily, I have a craving to return to my usual diet. Your mistake can then reinforce your will to part ways with junk food forever.
Treat chaos as an opportunity to learn, and you might benefit from it even more than if you had never found yourself in the middle of it.