If everyone lived with our future in mind, do you think that we would live differently?
I do think that we would live differently if we were looking at future. Many of us just live for today and don’t think about how our actions today could have a major impact on our future health. For example, people who smoke may not realize what the long term consequences are for smoking otherwise they may choose not to smoke today. My uncle recently passed away at the age of 61 from complications of years of smoking. All he was thinking about when he started smoking was how cool he looked doing it in high school when everyone else smoked. When he went into the hospital he said he wished he could tell every person that smoked what kind of problems it would cause later in life. He never got the chance to but I tell everyone I know about it. Also, I think that eating unhealthy is something that we do because many of us don’t have time to prepare a healthy meal. It is so much easier to drive through a fast food restaurant for dinner. We are not thinking with our futures in mind when we do that. Years down the road we might have atherosclerosis or build up of plaque in our arteries and eventually have heart disease from the food we eat today. Also many of my friends tan at the tanning salon. They are just thinking about the vacation they are going on next month and not thinking about years down the road when their skin will become ugly and wrinkled due to the tanning beds extensive damage. Skin cancer is also a risk factor later in life when using tanning beds frequently. So, the point being that many people only have time to live in the moment that we are in today. Those people may regret their choices in the future while others try to live for the future and ensure that they do everything they can to fight off aging and health problems.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Living in the future is a lifestyle that we should all commit to. You may not always be the cool person at the time however the rewards of thing ahead far out weigh the consequences of living for the present. I recently quit tanning, 2 years ago. When I was younger I wanted to be tanned just like all of my friends. A couple of years ago I was doing some research about tanning beds, I wanted to purchase one for my house, and came across a lot of information about the damaging effects of tanning. The thing that stuck with me the most was that tanning increases your risk of skin cancer by 70%. Needless to say I did not purchase a tanning bed and have not tanned since. I still watch my sisters and mother tan and try to tell them what the consequences could be. Only the future will tell if we will have hard consequences to deal with from these decisions.
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI dont think people think about the future, and how our actions affect our tomorrows. I see that everyday at work! I work in the hospital, most of the people that are there have lived with chronic disease for years, although they are educated on diet, exercise, and ways to change their life style to prevent further medical needs, people still do not make the necessary changes. I do think because maybe we live on the today and not worry about the tomorrow!
Good points Jennifer. I know that if I only knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently. I used to tan outdoors as well as the tanning booths up to my thirties and outdoors in my backyard up until last summer. This spring I had 3 skin cancers removed from my body and has left good size scars on my body. Of course as children and teens, skin cancer was not discussed and I never remember using sunblock, even as a teen. My kids were raised with sunblock slathered all over them and they are constantly getting the sun lecture from me!
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very insightful. I am a person that totally lives for today when it comes to food and exercise. I was raised to think about today because tomorrow is not promised, however, I don't believe I totally prescribed to that belief or otherwise I wouldn't be in school.
Living for today is great for not worrying about one's predictament in life at times, but a person should still look and prepare for the future. Time passes and shows up even if we have not prepared well.
Vikki Davis Littleton
You are so right many of us eat unhealthy due to not having enough time to cook healthy foods. I know that I have been guilty of that as well. I am so sorry about your uncle. May God help you through your times of grief.
ReplyDeleteVery right. If we all lived for our futures our livestyles, in general, would be very different. Your points of smoking, fast food, and tanning beds are true. Daily I treat patients who, mostly due to years of smoking, are now battling the end stages of COPD or lung cancer. The elderly and baby boomer population may have not known the risk associated with smoking as they grew up but this is not the case for our generation. We have the knowledge but must chose to use it to live for our futures and not just the present day.
ReplyDelete