Health. Everyone acknowledges its importance, but few consistently live in a manner that is conducive to optimal health. There is so much laziness. Bad information. Poor choices. People are tired, from working too long at jobs that are either too sedentary, too tiresome, or are less than gratifying. People are fat and undisciplined, accustomed to eating poorly, and eating way too much. Fast food. Processed meats. Microwave dinners. Salty snacks. Sodas. Too much sugar, salt, and fat. Too many artificial sweeteners and colors. Eating too many empty calories and nutritionally deficient meals. It's like everyday there is a war being waged against the body, but our mainline of defense rests primarily upon the everyday choices we make, in regards to what we eat and how much exercise we get.
Yadi yadi yada. Most people know that they should strive to be healthy, to make healthier food and lifestyle choices, but problem is people are largely irrational beings, who often do the opposite of what they know they should. They rebel against healthy living. They rebel against rationality and common sense. Like the cigarette smoker who is in denial that their habit is ruining their health, people eating poorly, just don't care. They prefer not to think about it, about the future consequences of their actions.
Reminds me of one of my past jobs, where most of my co-workers ate fast food everyday, and brought it back to the office. And this one time when someone, not me, made a comment about how fattening the food was, I think it was McDonald's, and the guy eating it, said something like at least he'll die happy. But really when you think about it, that is not true, because while he may feel happy, or rather happily stuffed and sedated today, can't say the same for time, when they are riddled with disease, in constant pain later down the road, from cancer and heart disease, won't be so happy then will they. It's just another way of making excuses, living in denial, doing everything to justify your bad decisions.
I'm not immune. Though I would say that most of my life has been characterized by extremely healthy food choices, thanks to my parents, home cooked meals, fresh fruits and vegetables, avoidance of consuming overly processed foods, fried foods, fast foods, foods with too much fat and salt. But there have been a few times, that I have indulged in poor food choices. Ate fast food, drank soda, completely pigged out on all the wrong foods. Been times where I've been out, without packing a lunch, and not wanting to spend much money, succumbed to the decision to eat fast food, a burger and fries, chicken nuggets, Taco Bell, etc. Not many times though. For real. But enough times to know how it effected me.
What I have noticed when doing so, is just how much that type of fried fatty fast food is addictive. It does something to you, to alter your brain and body chemistry, where once you start eating that type food, even just once or twice in one week, you start craving it and wanting it all the time. I think it also alters your taste buds, making natural slow foods, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables seem more unappealing. Where if it isn't buried in excessive fat and salt, it's boring. That's what a diet of fast food does to you, even if it's starts off as a once week, once in awhile habit, as time goes by and the more times you've eaten it, you fall into a sort of vicious cycle, of eating and craving more and more of it, where pretty soon you'll be eating it all the time, where fast food becomes a regular habit.
Though I realize that it is a counter productive waste of time, trying to convince people to change their eating habits, to talk people out of eating fast food, and not just fast food, but all processed foods with too much salt and fat. I mean you can try, but the odds that it will do any good are slim. They will come up with all kinds of excuses, or maybe they'll cut it down a little bit, but very few will cut it out completely based entirely on your suggestions. But rather it's something that each person must decide for themselves to do. You can give them information, about why such and such is unhealthy, and why something else is better for them. Maybe they'll eat healthy for awhile, but if they don't like it, especially if don't like the way it tastes, and they are too lazy or pressed for time to prepare home cooked meals themselves, they'll go back to the fast food, and the excessive fat and salt and sugar and artificial sweeteners in no time at all.
So, I can only work on myself. It is absolutely imperative that I exercise regularly and diligently adhere to a whole foods diet, no matter what. Physical fitness is a prerequisite to holistic health and happiness. Eating healthfully, exercising discipline and self-restraint at all times, not succumbing to the temptation of fast food, junk food, and processed convenient foods, is vitally important. Some people will call me fanatical, say that moderation is the key, you can eat junk food once in awhile, it's okay to have a greasy burger and fries, dead food in box, etc., just don't eat it all the time. One Big Mac isn't going to kill you. True. Same could be said for a shot of heroin, or a hit of crack, it probably won't kill you, but you'd also probably be better off without it. If I am fanatical, then so be it, it is with good reason.
All I know is that those few times when I indulged in bad habits, whether infrequently or in moderation, such as smoking, eating fast food, eating junk food, consuming anything that I know to be bad for me, and that I feel a strong psychological aversion to, that is contrary to my worldview, my lifestyle, my goals, the kind of person I aspire to be, strong, healthy, sober, intelligent, that when I do such things that I consider to be wrong, such as eating fast food, it alters my psychology, that so long as I eat it, even just a little bit, I can see myself falling into a pattern of not caring, of giving up, of throwing my entire life away into a cesspool of mediocrity. That's why I must avoid those things at all costs.
That's what fast food does to people over time, it robs you of your capacity for self-discipline and personal excellence, where you become sloppier and lazier in your habits, not just what you put into your body, not just what you eat and drink, but everything you do and consume and how you do it, how you think, how you do your job, where you live, your sources of entertainment, your spending and saving habits, how you live your life overall. A sloppy diet builds a sloppy mind, feeds an attitude of complacency and mediocrity. My opinion. That's how it effects me.
Does it effect everyone this way? I think it does, but maybe some people are so locked into a mentality of mediocrity already that they either don't notice or they don't care. After all, if you smoke, and eat unhealthy foods on a regular basis, how could you say that health and fitness and discipline is important to you? There can be no room for discipline, if you are regularly undisciplined with such a basic everyday necessity as food. Where is their room for health, for discipline, for diligence, efficiency, productivity, when you do not exercise such qualities and habits in regards to the management of your own body and mind?
Old habits die hard. The longer a habit has to get established, the more difficult it is to give up. Best to nip it in the bud as soon as possible. You can give recommendations to people, provide them with useful information, but each person must work on themselves, make their own choices, take responsibility for their own actions. It's a harsh and painful truth that few want to believe, in your quest for health, discipline, and person excellence, that as much as you'd like to share and recommend your way of life with people, you will find that some people really are lost causes. There is no hope for them. They are completely unreachable, completely content with their mediocrity and irrationality. Better to work on yourself and be a living example. Sometimes that is all you can do.
*This is post 19 of 20, part of my "20 posts in 30 days" challenge. Apparently I like to wait until the very last minute to wrap things up, but now it feels like a race, where I once held the lead, but is now a desperate struggle to the finish. In my defense, I figured it would help keep things interesting, by keeping me on my toes working under pressure. In reference to my 20 posts in 30 days challenge. This is something I wrote at the top before starting this post, and moved down here. Only one more post to go! The race is still on, we're neck and neck, but will I make it?
Source: http://effortlessflow.blogspot.com/2012/09/on-health-discipline-and-resisting.html
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