Temperance leads to discipline

It has been one year of virtue for me. One year without sugar, overeating, smoking, binge watching and video game abuse. When you remove the vices from your life, the virtues start to take the empty space. Of all virtues, I found that temperance is the most important one.

The hard truth about dopamine

Dopamine is the pleasure hormone: it kicks in whenever you think about something rewarding. It is supposed to lead us toward food and other pleasurable activities. For some people, it is the only guide. When you are a slave to dopamine you start to engage in mischievous behaviors such as overeating, drug or social media abuse. It creates a never-ending loop of consumption that eventually leads to shame or regrets.

In 2024 when I realized that I was a complete slave to dopamine, I decided to quit smoking, start intermittent fasting, stop playing video games, stop TikTok and social media, and all of that all at once. The first days were hard, but in the long run it was worth it.

Temperance is key

In my meditations, I found that temperance is key to enjoying life. Temperance is the ability to restrict yourself to the simplest of pleasures and prevent yourself from abusing of anything potentially dangerous. For Christians, it is the utmost virtue that a believer should follow. When you exert temperance, you start eating less, stop eating sugary things, quit smoking, choose the hard path and start making better decisions about your life.

In a sentence: temperance leads to discipline. By constantly restricting yourself from the “easy pleasures”, you start building a resistance to evil that gives you strength in the long run. By exhibiting temperance, you start guiding your life toward what you want it to be, it all clicks in the end.

Toward 10 years of virtue

In a previous article I stated that I wanted to be virtuous for 10 whole years. I recently celebrated my first year, and I am more decided than ever to continue in that direction. I lost 16 kilos, started working out again and started personal projects on the side. My work life has been impacted too, and of course my relations to my loved ones.

If you too would like to eliminate all vices from your life, do not hesitate to contact me.