Strike a balance

Back in college, our debate team always seemed to use this argumentation trick, most especially when the other team knew about the subject matter better than we did. The trick was simple. If our opponents proposed a new policy in the debate round, we always "nuanced" the solution by suggesting that the policy was extreme and that our counterproposal was a "balance" of all interests. If we proposed a policy or a plan, and the opposing team shot it down with their thorough knowledge of the topic, our second speaker would come up and finesse our policy to make it sound less extreme and closer to a balanced proposition, thus making our opponents look like they had misinterpreted our first speaker's plan.

Sometimes when you develop skill sets, you can't help but bring them into other aspects of your life. In my case, the reasoning and argumentation skills I had developed during college shaped the way I communicated with people after college. It was only years after the banter and exchanges with friends and strangers that I started to realize what I was saying and how I was representing myself to others: every answer was an attempt to show an effort of striking a balance in life.

Apparently, behind every best and safe answer to any and almost every life question is the concept of striking a balance. What is your attitude towards work? Work hard play hard. How would you allocate your free time in a year? Lots of alone time, vacation with family, friday night partying with friends, and Saturday evening dates. What do you like to drink in an evening? A few bottles of beer, a shot or two, and maybe even a glass of wine...then water. How do you describe your ideal girlfriend? Prudent, intelligent, strong-willed, independent, hot, sexy, appealing, smells good (yeah, I know right?)... You get the picture.

What does this all mean though? Does it mean that a bit of everything is better and healthier than having too much of one thing? Or, is it a strong reflection of a combination of a short attention span, indecisiveness and lack of a solid stance in living life? Is it just playing safe? Too safe? Denny Crane would call you a "Nansy Pansy." What if it really is about the old me? You know, the one who is risk averse (check out the old posts about geronimo moments - I'm too lazy to make a link). Maybe I am just mixing up concepts. Balance doesn't necessarily mean compromise. Maybe I am on the right track.

At least one thing is for sure. I like and respect myself more than I did the past few years and it's giving me some new found confidence in everything I do. I like the whole concept of balance. I'm getting there. I'm getting there.

Thank you, debate society, for the tip.