Tailored Equilibriums
It's almost always better to aim for a tailored equilibrium than to replace one extreme with another.
Case in point: it’s sometimes tempting to chuck one’s smartphone into the ocean and run into the woods, living an ascetic existence away from modern amenities like social networks and electricity.
While there’s absolutely value in re-embodying activities that have become too disembodied, remote, gamified, and cloud-based, a strict about-face is unlikely to provide the desired results, as such a posture denies us the useful aspects of those activities alongside those we hope to replace or recalibrate.
In other words, while it makes sense to try something different when it feels like what we're doing is hurting us in some way, opting for the polar-opposite will typically sub-in one set of problems for another.
A more intentionally established equipoise between extremes will tend to offer a blend of elements that—though still imperfect—will be more likely to serve our individual needs.
Such balance necessitates maintenance, of course, which isn't easy, and the ideal spot between those endpoints will be different for every single person—so it's a heavy-lift just figuring out where we should probably stand, and a further, persistent effort to maintain that position over time (as the world changes, as we change, and as those around us change).
Extremes are easy because all we have to do is hurl ourselves bodily in one direction or the other.
Thoughtful, balanced mediums are difficult because they require attention, mindfulness, and regular recalibration.
Temporary extremes like fasts and sabbaticals can help us find our footing as we paw around for the ideal (for now) space and stance, but the wholesale, long-term application of strict denial seldom results in the healthful, sustainable outcomes many of us would prefer to achieve.
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