Do You Have Smorgasbord Syndrome?

I’ll bet at some time you have been to an “all you can eat” buffet or a Sunday brunch. Laid out in front of you is the most wonderful array of dishes, old favourites and new delights and of course spectacular desserts.

You probably had a little internal conversation that went something like this:

“It all looks so good. I’ll splurge today because who knows when I’ll get the chance to have these treats again.”

“Well maybe I should pick and choose a bit. I don’t want to over do it.”

“No go ahead. Enjoy yourself. It’s all good stuff. You deserve it.”

Sound familiar? I’ll also bet that you gave in to the temptation and put way more on your plate than you usually do. And chances are you regretted it by the next day. I call that smorgasbord syndrome.

Life is just a big smorgasbord.

The same thing happens when you are adding things to your plate of commitments. Most people realize they often overload with things they don’t really want to do. They feel guilty if they say no, so they say yes. That’s certainly an obstacle to life balance.

The bigger challenge though is saying no to some of the wonderful opportunities that life brings us. Just like the buffet, life lays out in front of us a delicious array of experiences and if you try to taste them all at once, you will make yourself sick physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Life is more in balance when you pick and choose carefully what you put on your plate. Say no to some of the wonderful things. They will likely still be available to you later. That way you will have enough time and energy for your commitments and you can really enjoy them. You’ll have time to savour the things you are doing rather than just wolfing them down.

My mother used to say:

Be careful that your eyes are not bigger than your stomach.

How much you can comfortably put on your plate depends on what is already on it. Is it overloaded already, especially with things you find hard to swallow? Is there space available to add a new and wonderful dish?

Let pick and choose be your mantra. Then go ahead, grab your fork and be a disce
ing gourmet. n