Moderation

Moderation in all things helps achieve balance

It has been a well-known moral imperative for at least 3000 years that moderation is the key to happiness and well-being.

"Moderation in all things is the best policy." -Plautus, 250-184 bc; paraphrasing Hesiod, c. 700 bc

Moderation allows for indulgence in the great pleasures of life like food, sex, money, power, drugs and alcohol, while being aware of their potential for abuse and intentionally avoiding the temptation towards excess,addiction, and other negative consequences.

Political Moderation

Balance of Power is the principle of moderation applied to politics and economics.It is Yin and Yang. Opposing forces create a feedback loop that keeps either one from exerting authoritarian control.

Content Moderation

On any online platform with user-generated content, a robust, transparent, and fair content moderation policy is necessary to avoid trolling your way into becoming yet another extremist echo chamber outrage competition.

While it is a different usage of the word moderation, the effect of effective moderation is to moderate the collective consciousness of the users on that platform.

Check the wiki page for the content moderation policy for this wiki.

Make it Easy to be Moderate

To achieve moderation, it is easier to create an environment that incentivizes it rather than relying on willpower, which doesn't really exist.

Variety is not just the spice of life, it is also the key to moderation. It's hard to overdo it on any one thing if you do all the things!

Moderation in Everything Means Everything

It is possible to become addicted to anything with the ability to bring happiness. This is especially true of spirituality and wellness. When you first start to choose a healthy lifestyle and focus on your well-being, it makes you feel better, which is salient. When you connect with a community on a deep level and feel like a part of an in-group, it gives you a rush of positive emotions. It is very easy to become addicted to this feeling if there are not diverse alternative sources of reinforcement. For example, orthorexia is an eating disorder that results from an obsession with nutrition. Eating healthy is great. But obsessing over every single food choice to the point that other sources of happiness are neglected is bad.

The same is true of religion. If your spiritual practice prevents you from participating in the joys of the secular world, you are not enlightened, you are addicted. While addiction to ritual or philosophy may be less unhealthy than addiction to drugs, it can be equally annoying to your fellow humans.

The Video Virtues of Moderation

Every religion extolls the virtue of moderation so you might want to pay attention to what they are saying.

Taoist Master on the Philosophy of Moderation

The Stoic Virtue of Moderation

Billy Joel - Go to Extremes