Dealing with Cause versus Effect
Unless you've been under a rock for the last month, you've heard
politician after politician speaking about the issues of health care.
While
Obama says health care is an important item on his agenda, I beg
to differ. Now don't get me wrong, I think his and many others'
intentions are good. However, there's a lack of understanding around
how
this universe works.
If you're familiar at all with my work, you should know by now that
"energy flows where attention goes." Notice where the attention is
focused in most (if not all) conversations regarding health care. Pay
attention, and you'll quickly realize the conversations are not focused
on health at all... They're focused on addressing sickness.
All the hoopla regarding death panels, rationing and discontinuing
Medicare is the conversation about what to do with people who are sick.
Do we let them die or live? Are they worth saving or not? Is this a
conversation about health? I think not. The study of how to address
sickness is not an advocacy, nor a solution, for health.
I pay a pretty penny already for health insurance that rarely if
ever gets used. At the same time, I spend a small fortune (outside of
my insurance plan) on proactive health-sustaining solutions such as
massage, acupuncture, nutritional supplementation, gym membership,
organic foods and much more. All of which my health care provider
refuses to pay. My insurance company is laughing all the way to the
bank.
In my letter to the president when he took office (
click here to read it),
I suggested we usher in a new era of responsibility. So far, I haven't
seen it in any great measure, and this issue extends beyond health care
alone.
Banks and automotive companies that ran their business irresponsibly
were bailed out with little accountability or with few constructs being
put in place. In other words, "You screwed up, but you're not
responsible or being held accountable."
I don't know about you, but if I make poor financial decisions in my
personal life or business, I've never found anyone (much less the
government) ready to bail me out. I currently have a pretty hefty tax
bill due to the state of California, and I'm pretty sure they're not
going to let me off.
And now, we're consumed with sick care. I'm not too excited to pay
for a lung cancer case obtained by smoking two packs of Marlboros per
day. What part of "smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer" is
unclear?
Likewise, I'm not excited to pay for triple bypass for a person
who's spent a lifetime eating burritos,
Krispy Kreme and Snickers,
whose idea of a workout is clicking the remote on their television.
If I sound insensitive, I apologize. Those who know me know I'm very
sensitive to the needs of others. And please understand that needs and
wants are not always the same thing.
Sometimes true sensitivity and love is not continuing to enable
individuals to continue with the behaviors that got them in a painful
situation to begin with. I don't think many parents would allow their
small children the opportunity to continually place their hands upon a
hot stove.
I realize there are exceptions, but the rule is that smoking is the
number one cause of lung cancer. Heart disease is the number one killer
overall, and I submit it's largely due to the inability to handle our
emotions properly. We don't need more economic stimulus nearly as much
as we need a mental and emotional stimulus.
And obesity quickly is approaching the number one cause of death in
America. According to
the CDC, about 300,000 people per year--25,000
per month, 5,769 per week, 821 per day, 34 per hour--die of obesity.
While I care tremendously about the needs of others, I care enough
to believe in the age old saying, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him
for a day. Teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
What we need in this world is to quit giving people fish, which
enables them in the same disempowering behavior that got them in the
predicament to begin with. On this same issue of responsibility and
cause versus effect, I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention that
most welfare recipients in this country are second- and
third-generation welfare recipients. We need to incent and reward
individuals to learn how to fish!
I'd love to see the Obama administration give an incentive to
business owners to buy gym memberships for their team. Or what if we gave an incentive to the individual who took proactive measures to stay
healthy?
I got my annual physical last week, and my doctor gladly told me
that all my vitals and hormone levels (which I get checked regularly)
are at the level of a 28 year old. I'm sure you're aware that my
physical chronology is a few years more than that. But health is not
about chronology.
Lest you think I boast or that I'm just lucky--think again. Luck has
nothing to do with it, and I'm not boastful... I'm grateful. I work my
tail-feathers off to take premium care of the body the Creator has
given me. If I can travel over 200 days per year and eat healthfully
and get a workout in every single day, anyone can. It's people like me
that keep the insurance companies in fat city.
What if we restructured insurance plans to pay for alternative
measures that actually increase health versus measures that address the
effect of neglect?
Emerson stated, "Health is our greatest wealth." He's absolutely correct, yet so few focus on it until it's in jeopardy.
Since I'm not holding my breath that our governmental or collective
societal focus is going to turn around all too quickly, let me give you
some suggestions for taking personal responsibility that will pay off
for you. Here are a few quick tips to add more years to your life and,
more importantly, more life to your years.
Start a daily meditation practice. This can be
as little as 10-20 minutes but research has proven the stress-relieving
and health benefits. Not to mention, it's been proven to extend your
life.
Have an empowering social network. If your
friends are what I call "energy vampires," always having drama and
complaints in their life and always focusing on the negative, you're
going to get sucked in. Conversely, if you choose your friends wisely,
invest time with those who are inspired by life and have a grand
purpose to fulfill, you'll be more inspired as well.
Make your home a sanctuary. Your home
should be filled with the things that make you feel peaceful, and it
should create an environment that you can't wait to "come home" to.
Workout regularly. Do something for your
cardiovascular health, your flexibility as well as your strength at
least 3-4 times per week. You'll feel better, look better and have more
physical and mental stamina.
Eat to live, don't live to eat. While many
foods available may taste good, their nutritional value often ranks
right up there with cardboard. Keep your diet high in lean proteins,
avoid red meat and fats and get plenty of greens. Greens are living
foods filled with energy, and if you want to have high energy, you
can't get too much of them.
When we individually begin taking more personal responsibility for
our own health and our own lives in every area, we feel more empowered,
more inspired and alive and more in control. Transforming our
government and our world begins with transforming our self.
That's how you and I change the world.