By and large a person’s life is similar to a ship out on the water.
A ship will take whatever course it is led or directed to.
Say for example the ship is just let to sit. The slow calm winds and gentle currents will determine where the ship ends up if no other force is applied. We see this from time to time when an otherwise abandoned ship gets beached on the reef or runs aground after a storm. Sometimes we see a capsized vessel on the water. (And the usual thought – “I wonder how that happened?”)
Now say the ship has an engine, sails, a rudder, anchors, an able crew and a competent captain. Now this ship can be directed for a more useful purpose. This ship will most assuredly have a longer life at sea, many more adventures and sites seen along it’s journey, and can fulfill any number of purposes and enjoyed by countless individuals along the way.
The correlation of a ship and a person’s life are so closely similar that it’s startling.
Say we take any random person born on earth in the usual manner. If this person lets themselves just sit…
…say, to be directed, influenced, and guided by the media, TV, news, politicians, the economy, social norms, the slow calm winds and currents of a normal upbringing and life – then it should be NO wonder as to why this path gives us the following:
“Social Security represented 84.3 percent of total income for those aged 65 and older in the lowest income quintile” (1)
“The overwhelming majority of the older population receives Social Security. In 2010, Social Security paid benefits to 86.3 percent of the population aged 65 and over” (1)
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States” (2)
“About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths” (2)
“High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (47%) have at least one of these three risk factors. (3)
“Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including:Diabetes, Overweight and obesity, Poor diet, Physical inactivity, Excessive alcohol use.” (4)
“The percentage of adults age 20 years and over with overweight, including obesity: 70.7% (2013-2014) (5)
“Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death” (6)
“The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars” (6)
OK, so we need not go on (and we could) about how just letting everything other than proactive course corrections dictate the path of one’s life.
Go to ANY establishment anytime during any day and you see evidence, in abundance, that this IS NOT in any way acceptable for any measure of success other than basic existence that ends in misery, early death, and suffering. And it is by no means the example one would want to set for their offspring, relatives, coworkers, or society in general.
NOW let’s say the same person has a sail, engine, anchor, able crew, and a competent captain – in other words, takes proactive steps on a continual basis to fight against the social norms and programming, limits or eliminates most news, the subtle siren songs and conditioning of TV, media – and instead pushes, fights, pulls, and takes progressive action toward any better port of call (destination).
Yes, we can reference nearly the same statistics:
“Social Security represented only 17.3 percent of total income for those in the highest income quintile” (1)
“By living a healthy lifestyle, you can help keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar normal and lower your risk for heart disease and heart attack. A healthy lifestyle includes the following: Eating a healthy diet, Maintaining a healthy weight, Getting enough physical activity, Not smoking or using other forms of tobacco, Limiting alcohol use.(7)
“The key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight isn’t short-term dietary changes; it’s about a lifestyle that includes healthy eating and regular physical activity.” (8)
Common sense tells us that this person will most assuredly have a longer life, many more adventures and sites seen along their journey, and can fulfill any number of purposes and enjoyed by countless individuals along the way.
Now it is left to the reader to determine what level of action, and in which direction that action (or lack thereof) will achieve their goal.
A great expansion, and much more comprehensive, on this topic can be found in “The Compound Effect” by Daren Hardy (http://www.thecompoundeffect.com/) a book I highly recommend to everyone who doesn’t want the siren’s song and gentle breezes to land them beached on the shore of forgotten dreams and desperation.
“We don’t pay the price for success, we pay the price for failure. We enjoy the benefits of success.”- Zig Ziglar
References:
(1)https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p23-212.pdf
(2)Deaths: Final data for 2013. National Vital Statistics Report. 2015;64(2). Detailed tables released ahead of full report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_02.pdf[PDF-1.6M]. Accessed on Feb. 3, 2015
(3)Fryar CD, Chen T, Li X. Prevalence of Uncontrolled Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease: United States, 1999–2010[PDF-323K]. NCHS data brief, no 103. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012
(4)https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
(5)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
(6)https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
(7)https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/healthy_living.htm
(8)https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/strategies/