Weekender: Just a Reminder

For those of you who may have been going to Pizza Hut lately for all of the nutritious, alternative menu items they now offer, this is just a reminder.

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Iffy Strategy

Over a long holiday weekend, I read a Chicago Tribune article on “financial triage” – the need to prioritize your personal finances pronto in the wake of a job loss in the current economic climate. Since job loss affects the income side, the gist of the article was to address the spending side, and one of the first tips was to act quickly and decisively. An example here, along with eliminating a Netflix-type of DVD subscription, was to eliminate the health club membership.

I understand that the message here is to cut deep in times of personal financial crisis, and I also understand that the health club reference was only an example. Nonetheless, I take issue with it. Of all the things that a person or family could and should cut in those instances, a health club membership is not one of them. Sure, if someone has a membership that is rarely or never used, then nix it because it’s serving no purpose other than to drain the bank account. However, if a person is actually using it then I’m going to take a “wild” guess based on research and years of experience that there are physical and mental benefits being gained. In that situation, cutting a health club membership just makes the situation worse, because it cuts off an outlet for stress, as well as opportunities for maintaining self-esteem in a very difficult time. Not only that, but given that many self-branding gurus talk about one’s appearance (physical and clothing) and demeanor as a product package, similar to an actual product or service package, the last thing a person would want to do in a competitive employment environment such as a recession is to let their brand slip a bit in comparison to their competition. Cutting out a club membership, assuming that’s the primary place a person gets their regular exercise, does exactly all of those negative things.

Just as personal finance experts distinguish between good debt (house, education, etc.) and bad debt (credit cards), I’d make a distinction between good or necessary expenses (house, groceries, health club, etc.) and bad or unnecessary expenses (dinners out, cable TV, books/music, etc.). I recognize that what’s necessary and unnecessary varies by individual, but I argue that one’s health and overall well-being is a non-negotiable – even in times like these.

Slow the Wheels

One song I particularly enjoy is John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels,” in which he sings about his self-removal from the world spotlight in the latter half of the 70s. Several lines of the song relay the overall response he received from people who thought that “surely you’re not happy now,” given the level of fame and attention he received as a Beatle and independent artist up to that point and was subsequently giving up. The idea that a person could be happy out of the rat race, regardless of their level of success, is definitely foreign to some people.

I’m not interested in leaving the race at the moment – although I think the running division I’m in is fairly moderate to begin with – but there’s definitely something to be said for slowing down at regular intervals to rest and reflect, as many people will be doing this week for the Thanksgiving holiday. This opportunity to simply watch the wheels is more restorative to one’s well-being than most people would give it credit for. Much has been written about the psychological benefits of giving thanks, not just at holidays but on a daily basis. The reality, however, is that few of us actually do that, and instead we simply keep our noses to the grindstone to scratch off the next item on a never-ending to-do list.

I’ve found over the past year that the evenings that I allow myself time to unwind quietly without outside distractions, as opposed to working right up until bedtime or watching TV until I fall asleep, are those that are most relaxing and rejuvenating. These are the times that I let my mind release the details of the daily grind and wander to other things, and the times in which I sometimes think about and appreciate my life’s good fortune. Here’s to some extra time this week to do just that.

Weekender: Dedication, Part 2

I’m thinking that this type of a jog outdoors in Colorado in November can’t be all that warm – dedication perhaps?  Or maybe he’s not playing with a full deck of cards…

Hopefully school wasn’t in session during his jaunt around the track.

Bleak Future

This is a short post to finish the week. I recently came across an news brief in the Chicago Tribune that reported the results of a study indicating that many obese children and teenagers have arteries comparable in health to a 45-year old. I know that a lot of kids want to grow up quickly for reasons such as driving, voting, drinking, etc., but I can’t imagine that this is on their list of motivators. Couple this with the ridiculous amount of debt that the U.S. government has created and continues to add, and our children’s physical and fiscal future doesn’t look too good. On the other hand, perhaps for their troubles they’ll have more comprehensive health care.

I described the future as bleak in the post’s title, but the truth is that these kids’ futures are bleak only if we choose that. That choice is made every day in very small ways that we don’t tend to think about until we notice a problem brewing. Hopefully continued publicizing of news like this will prompt adults to act responsibly on behalf of their kids.