Personal Lessons and Experiences From The Past Week
Health
In terms of health, I have been discussing with some people the concept of what it means to be healthy. I find this topic interesting because many of us claim to be healthy, but when you look at all the key biomarkers, are we really that healthy?
This became apparent to me during Covid when the news reported that a healthy young adult died of Covid, but when you saw their picture, they were overweight. Carrying excess body fat increases the risk of heart disease, and diabetes compromises the immune system and affects the body's ability to fight disease and infection. So, are we using the term "healthy" too loosely? I feel that we are.
To classify yourself as healthy, you need to have healthier levels of body fat, exercise regularly, not smoke or drink excessively, and have good biomarkers in terms of sleep quality, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and muscle mass. All of these factors play a key role in determining whether you are a healthy individual. Even if one of these factors is not at its optimum level, it could limit your ability to classify yourself as healthy.
Although you might feel healthy, you could feel even healthier if you got more sleep or exercised more. If you haven't exercised before but then start doing so, you might realize that you were not as healthy as you thought. Similarly, losing body fat, increasing muscle mass, and improving your nutrient intake are all essential factors in managing your health and well-being.
It is important not to brush off the term "healthy" and assume that someone is healthy just because they appear healthy on the surface. Their lifestyle choices over weeks, months, and years could contribute to high blood pressure or other complications related to heart disease or diabetes. It is crucial to strive for excellence in terms of your health, rather than just being okay, as this could significantly reduce your risk of complications.
For example, getting more than the recommended minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day could provide optimum benefits, as could getting more than six to seven hours of sleep per night. Additionally, doing more than the minimum amount of physical activity, such as aiming for at least three to four hours of cardiovascular exercise per week, could have massive benefits for your overall well-being.
In conclusion, we should reflect on how we use the term "healthy" for ourselves and in society. It is important to strive for excellence in our health and well-being, rather than just being okay. By doing so, we could reduce our risk of complications related to heart disease, diabetes, and other health issues.
Wealth
Today, I gained an interesting perspective on government support regarding excess energy bills. The UK government provides a grant of around £400 over several months to support communities and families struggling with the rising cost of energy bills. However, I recently discovered that the billing provider deducted this support money from customers' accounts instead of leaving it in their energy accounts to pay the bills.
This insight was fascinating as it demonstrated how energy companies and the government make people's lives more complicated and challenging to understand their bills. If this money was meant to support customers, then why not leave it in their energy account to fund their bills rather than paying the money back into their bank account? If a customer was not aware of the extra money, they may have spent it on other expenses like food or socializing, unaware that it was meant for their energy bills.
This situation leaves customers with negative credit when they expected to have positive credit as they have consistently paid more than their regular gas and electric bill every month. It is clear that these companies prioritize their profits over customer support and make things unnecessarily confusing.
As individuals, we must focus on understanding our wealth and tracking our in and outgoings. Companies will not provide us with any information, and we must be mindful of extra funds and charges that they may apply. This lesson highlights the importance of monitoring every incoming and outgoing payment in our bank accounts and being aware of the extra support and fees charged by these companies.
It would be beneficial if gas and electric companies provided more support when it comes to communicating about their products, instead of expecting customers to know the ins and outs of their services. The information should be laid out on the website or app, with regular updates and clear communication.
Mindset
This week, during conversations with some patients and while conducting health assessments, I encountered a person who was struggling with an injury. It was interesting to observe that this person was waiting for the National Health Service (NHS) to solve their problem, either through surgery or physiotherapy, rather than taking physical action themselves to address the issue.
While I understand that the NHS provides financial support for treatment, if someone has the means to pay for private physiotherapy to relieve their pain, they should consider doing so. This is especially important if the pain is causing significant discomfort, as it can affect one's quality of life.
In this particular case, the person was also overweight. Losing weight and being more active would not only reduce their pain but also improve their overall health and potentially lead to a better outcome if they do require surgery down the line.
This situation is a good example of the victim mentality that we often adopt, where we expect others to solve our problems rather than take responsibility for our well-being. It is important to recognize that while a situation may not be our fault, we have the power to take physical action to make it better.
Regardless of the situation, there is likely some action that we can take to alleviate our discomfort or pain. For example, being more active, seeking support for mental health issues, or making dietary changes. It is important to take small steps consistently, rather than hoping for a magical solution down the line.
To improve our situation, we need to take action daily. This could involve speaking up for ourselves at work or improving our skills to increase our income. It may seem like a small step, but consistently taking action is the key to progress and improvement.
Lyric/ Quote I'm pondering
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
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