An aversion to feeling good?

Why is it that we sometimes make choices that we might know aren't the best for our overall health and well-being? Perhaps the poor choice comes when we are feeling our very best-- like a "I feel so good, and because I am feeling great, I have the capacity to now make this unhealthy choice that will be maybe okay now that I'm feeling so great." 

Say there's a food you love, but every time you eat it, you don't feel so great after. Maybe you feel tired, sluggish, irritable, or drained. So you avoid this food for a week, and you're feeling great. Life has been great without this particular food. But then you decide to have the food again, and then what you know to be true, that it doesn't feel good when you eat this particular food, makes itself apparent again. Why do we do this?

As hypothesized above, maybe it's because we feel that we have the space to make a poorer choice because we feel like we're at a heightened state. "Maybe things will be different this time. Maybe it won't affect me negatively like it usually does!" Or maybe it's because we're human, and sometimes life can be challenging or we're just tired and want to reach for copious cups of coffee or a whole sleeve of Oreo's.

Ultimately, maybe the reason why we do the things we do doesn't matter so much. Perhaps it's mainly beneficial to simply realize what we are doing. They say that the first step to changing a habit, or changing the self, is awareness. Once you are aware of something, you then have the ability to make a change, if wanted or needed.  

With anything, balance and moderation seems to be key. Always making perfect choices for our overall health and well-being might be preferential, but it also is perhaps a bit unrealistic. As important and beneficial as it is to make choices that add to our life, it's also good and needed to enjoy the moment sometimes, to be human, and to have the piece of cake at the wedding you're attending if you want, or to stay up until 2:00AM binging the new K Drama you love so much, even though you have to get up early the next day. Perfection is both unrealistic and tiring. It's good to practice honoring the moment, to honor our life, and also to enjoy our life. 

Too much indulging in anything, even something "good," might actually transition into an unhealthy behavior, habit, or choice. Perhaps the most helpful thing we can do is to ask ourselves which choice or outcome will add to our greatest health, joy, and overall well-being prior to making a decision. We might not always make the best choices, but in making the healthiest choice for ourselves more often than not, we can better enjoy this precious life experience as human beings to our fullest potential.