I always get a kick out of the movie scene where there’s a car chase and suddenly the lead driver sees a sign that says “Caution, bridge out ahead.” Invariably, the car keeps speeding along, through the barricade, over the bridge and into the water. Meanwhile, the police car, or whoever else is chasing them, stops short of the sign. They get out of their car and walk down to the edge of the water to see the driver of the car struggling to swim to shore. Yeah, they got caught.
Did they really think they would be able to get away?
Well, here’s the thought process that probably goes through their mind at the moment they see the road sign: OK, I have 2 options.
Option 1 = Stop the car and I’m busted. No chance I’m getting away, so I’ll just give up now and deal with the consequences.
Option 2 = Take a risk. If I stop, I’m definitely busted, but if I ignore the warning sign and push through it, there’s still a chance I can get away. (Little do they know that the likelihood of succeeding by pushing through is miniscule and that by doing so they are likely to cause even further damage and possibly inflict major harm on themselves and others).
We get entertainment value out of this because it could never happen in real life, right?
WRONG.
We see this same type of decision making ALL THE TIME.
Granted, we don’t see cars vaulting off bridges on a regular basis, but this has become the American mentality towards health and well-being.
Take for instance, the executive that pushes through fatigue and sickness just to meet that all important deadline. Or the athlete who plays through serious injury for fame or fortune or maybe just the thrill of the game. These are the people that we idolize and look up to.
What drives us to ignore the warning signs that our body gives us and push ourselves beyond our physiological limitations?
Well, we live in a society that is driven by overindulgence and addiction. Yes, we all know about alcohol and drug addiction, but what about those of us who are addicted to success or power or material possessions?
Maybe that driver in the movie is addicted to adrenaline and gets high off the rush of excitement. We are surrounded by pretty things and fancy cars and the next big adventure that lies before us. Our thoughts are so fixated on these things, that we lose track of what’s most important, our health.
We’ll spend 2 hours on the weekend washing and waxing our car to make it look nice, but can’t find 30 minutes to go for a walk to exercise. We can stand in line for 2 hours at 4 am on Black Friday to get the best deal on a new HD TV, but spend an hour in quiet meditation at the end of the work day to relax, forget it!
We are only given one body for this journey called life and we need to take care of it. If we start paying attention to our bodies warning signs as soon as they appear, it’s much easier to take action and correct the imbalance.
Obesity is on the rise, especially with children. Now this isn’t a health problem that happens overnight. I don’t believe any man can go to bed one night weighing 180 pounds and wake up the next morning weighing 250. It takes time to develop and it’s all about making decisions.
Given the choice, what would you choose? It’s 8 pm, do you jump on the treadmill for 30 minutes or watch your favorite prime time TV show? Take the stairs up 2 floors or the elevator? Ice cream cone or a piece of fruit? Tough decisions, right?
I’m not saying you can never indulge yourself ever again, but take a look at the frequency and extent that we overindulge ourselves on a daily basis.
A recent article I read noted that 60% of households have video game consoles. In contrast, only about 12% of Americans have a gym or fitness club membership. That’s staggering, but it certainly helps explain why obesity and chronic disease are on the rise.
As a society, we need to take a long, hard look within ourselves and decide what we want the future to look like for us and for our families. I suggest becoming more in tune with your body and recognize what you need to do to keep your body “tuned up.”
If your health has gotten out of hand, seek the help of professionals who can help get you back on track and teach you how to make the right decisions going forward.
At the Hansa Center for Optimum Health, part of our program is to counsel our patients on how to live healthy and make the choices that will benefit them the most and keep them on the road to a happy, healthy life.
