So of course, the balance is complex to find, because it is very easy to find the excuse of saying: "Well, I will try to be flexible and do simple things, so I lose all my discipline". Of course, it is a risk, it is really a balance that is very very difficult to find. I am not yet sure that I have found the perfect balance.
we talked about it a few weeks ago, about making my life simpler. So somewhere, I haven't found the perfect balance yet, but I'm working on it. And I really invite you to ask yourself how you can find the best balance between discipline and simplicity, between having strict rules and being flexible.
I'll give you one last example regarding food. For a while, I wanted to do what is called intermittent fasting, which is basically, for 12 hours, you don't eat. So you're going to have, I think, basically, your last meal at 8 p.m. in the evening and you don't eat until... No, that's not it, it's not 12 hours, I'm being stupid, it's 16 hours, that's it. You eat for 8 hours, and for 16 hours, you don't eat. So if you have your last meal at 8 p.m., that means you're not going to eat again until noon the next day, you're not going to eat in the morning.
I saw that it was probably good for my health, so I wanted to force myself. I relied on discipline to do it, and it was too difficult actually. It consumed a lot of discipline, it consumed a lot of energy, so I couldn't really do it in the long term. I could force myself, because I have good discipline, but in the long term, it was really difficult because it took away a lot of motivation and it was counterproductive to have a rule that was too strict.
On the other hand, at one point, I wanted to reduce meat. We are still in the diet, but basically, I know that meat is not very good for me, I feel it. When I eat meat, especially red meat, I digest it badly, it is not very good for me etc. There are ethical reasons too, but in any case I wanted to limit meat.
And I said to myself: "Rather than becoming a vegetarian," which is something very difficult to do. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it requires a lot of discipline and it creates a lot of problems. lebanon whatsapp number data For example, if I go to my parents' house and my mother cooks me meat, I don't want to tell her: "Well no, I'm not eating," for example.
So I try to… or I have implemented something called “being flexitarian”. So you’re a bit of a vegetarian, meaning you don’t really eat meat, but you’re flexible. Meaning if you eat some once, well it’s not a big deal. And for me, it works well. At home, my wife knows that… and my kids make fun of me with this term “flexitarian”, but they know that at home I’m not going to eat meat. On the other hand, if we go out, outside, and once at a restaurant I want to eat a bit of meat or if I’m invited somewhere, I will.
And I find that this example, at least for me... Of course, some will say: "no, my personal beliefs mean that I don't eat meat" or "meat is very bad for me and I don't eat it", so that's possible too, but in my particular case, it's the best compromise between discipline on the one hand and flexibility on the other.
So that's what I wanted to share with you today. I hope you enjoyed it. And I invite you to follow the link in the description to join the Authentic French Academy, www.francaisauthentique.com/academie-ouverte . I can't wait to meet you in person. Registration closes in a few days.