For many Americans, the Thanksgiving holiday is not only synonymous with turkey, but also the sales fliers for Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, millions of people get out of bed ridiculously early and contend with traffic jams and mobs of people for what they perceive to be great bargains. Despite the hype, these so called bargains aren’t always what they appear to be.

Although Christmas decorations seem to appear earlier each year, even before most people buy their Thanksgiving turkeys, Black Friday is the unofficial start of the Christmas season. Some people have made a tradition of shopping on Black Friday while others deal with the insanity just to save money. Either way, I just don’t see it being worthwhile.

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Sometimes it can be a learning experience and a pleasant surprise to do things that fall outside of your typical preferences. This was exactly the case with my vacation last week.

My wife comes from a large family and we all rented a lake house deep within the Adirondacks and about a half hour from the nearest developed town. This is a world apart from the palm trees, hot weather, and easy access to restaurants and entertainment that I typically associate with vacation. As such, I knew this would be a different experience and was unsure about how it would turn out.

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To the dismay of many, discipline is often regarded as a major aspect of healthy living. Although it’s certainly an important part of achieving optimal health, occasional rule breaking is also important!

The 80/20 Rule

With all the unhealthy temptations that exist in modern society, even the healthiest and most determined individuals need to indulge once in a while. As such, there’s a simple guideline called the “80/20 rule” that many health practitioners use with their clients. According to this rule, if you spend 80% of your time adhering closely to a healthy lifestyle, your health should be able to withstand whatever you do during the remaining 20% of the time.

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