It ain't just a river in Egypt...
I went for a run tonight for the first time since I was in my 20’s. It was not the same.
But it got me thinking. How can I sit on my butt all the time, eating Flaming Hot Cheetos and drinking beer, and think I’m not going to die one day of a massive coronary?
The answer is two-fold, my friends: denial and rationalization.
Ah denial. I know it well. Not that silly old, boring, un-fun, SELF-denial stuff. But the denial I have honed to a fine line of first defense against good judgment. The denial of reality. For example:
Reality – My belly has layers that were not there 10 years ago.
Denial – “I look better with some meat on my bones.”
Reality – I’m almost 40 and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
Denial – “I have goals. A boob job and a tummy tuck before I turn 50.”
When denial is no longer an option, (temporary sanity is bound to break through sooner or later), rationalization is there to step in and make any ridiculously wrong choice seem like the right thing to do.
Your conscience may say, “If you eat that entire box of chocolate filled donuts, you’re going to feel like crap and hate yourself later.” But rationalization is there to whisper in your ear, “Eat them. It will save some other poor soul from cellulite and clogged arteries.” Common sense may dictate that if you have that 4th tequila shot, you’re going to end up going home with Bubba, the snaggle-toothed biker. Rationalization says, “Booze is good for you, it thins the blood.”
See what I mean? Denial and rationalization can pretty much get you anywhere you want to go, that you’ll regret once you get there.
I’m going to go have just one more glass of wine now… It’s good for my blood.
But it got me thinking. How can I sit on my butt all the time, eating Flaming Hot Cheetos and drinking beer, and think I’m not going to die one day of a massive coronary?
The answer is two-fold, my friends: denial and rationalization.
Ah denial. I know it well. Not that silly old, boring, un-fun, SELF-denial stuff. But the denial I have honed to a fine line of first defense against good judgment. The denial of reality. For example:
Reality – My belly has layers that were not there 10 years ago.
Denial – “I look better with some meat on my bones.”
Reality – I’m almost 40 and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
Denial – “I have goals. A boob job and a tummy tuck before I turn 50.”
When denial is no longer an option, (temporary sanity is bound to break through sooner or later), rationalization is there to step in and make any ridiculously wrong choice seem like the right thing to do.
Your conscience may say, “If you eat that entire box of chocolate filled donuts, you’re going to feel like crap and hate yourself later.” But rationalization is there to whisper in your ear, “Eat them. It will save some other poor soul from cellulite and clogged arteries.” Common sense may dictate that if you have that 4th tequila shot, you’re going to end up going home with Bubba, the snaggle-toothed biker. Rationalization says, “Booze is good for you, it thins the blood.”
See what I mean? Denial and rationalization can pretty much get you anywhere you want to go, that you’ll regret once you get there.
I’m going to go have just one more glass of wine now… It’s good for my blood.
posted by Cas at 8:09 PM
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