One of my favorite movie quotes is by Jeff Goldblum to Glenn Close in The Big Chill, “A rationalization is better than sex. Have you ever gone more than one week without one good juicy rationalization?” The truth is we rationalize decisions all the time. Purchasing a pair of expensive shoes when they may not totally be in the budget saying “but they’re one of a kind!”, choosing not to work on an important business proposal but going to the pool instead rationalizing “they can wait one more day for it”, putting off exercising until later in the day only to find later in the day never comes and you think, “I”ll start tomorrow”, ordering traditional eggs benedict at brunch with the side of roasted potatoes and scarfing down every bite instead of opting for scrambled eggs with fresh fruit and a side of whole wheat toast claiming, “It’s the weekend, calories don’t count”.
Rationalizations are easy, come naturally, and seem innocent and they can be, I suppose, but when it comes to your body, are they really innocent? How many times can you keep rationalizing your health away? As my mother would say when I was a teenager, “do you realize the consequences of what you are doing?” She wasn’t speaking of my health but the question is worth asking. Do we really think through what we put in our mouths on a daily basis? My guess is most likely not for most of us.
