Functioning Alcoholism and the Work/Play Spectrum

A wise man once said: “Moderation in all things, especially moderation.”

But what the $+@& does that really mean? Moderation is a relative term, because a fit man’s jog is fat man’s sprint.

For example, my college dorm roommate was a full-blown alcoholic. By all means, I drank a lot in college as well. But I was nowhere near as drunk, as often, as this guy was(I still tell stories about this legend of a man, who would drink an entire handle of whisky while reading his chemistry textbook cover to cover).

In my mind, I was getting “moderately” drunk, a “moderate” amount of times, “moderately” being an asshole to a “moderate” amount of people. But I was comparing myself to my (highly functioning) whisky-guzzling roommate. To other people, I was probably a raging alcoholic, and I am publicly apologizing for anything that I did between the ages of 18 and 22.

Now that I have certain responsibilities, most of which are financial, the above quote can be applied to a range of things besides drinking. One of those is the all-important “Work/Play” balance.

One of the most profound lessons I have learned since graduating is that nothing is ever Black or White, Yes or No, Good or Bad, Right or Wrong. Everything falls somewhere on a spectrum. Each decision has pro’s and con’s and the Work/Play balance falls on a spectrum as well.

But guess what?? Everyone’s spectrum is different. Comparing yourself to others does nothing but cause unhappiness and angst. It is the reason that I have tried to avoid Facebook, SnapChat, and Instagram for so long.

What percentage of your day do you spend Working, and what percentage do you spend Playing? Is it 50/50, 60/40, 80/20, 90/10, or even more skewed?  Does it Work for you? Great, then keep on doing it! If not, it’s not too late to change things up.

Looking at PerDayLA, many of you probably think that I am still the “moderate” alcoholic that I was back in the day. And guess what, compared to you, maybe I am. But everyone’s moderation level is different, as is everyone’s balance of Work and Play. However, if you live in Los Angeles, and you are trying to find new ways to Play, I hope www.perdayLA.com can at least distract some of you who are busy working.