Health for Granted - Until It's Gone

Too often, people take their health for granted. They smoke, eat badly, don't exercise ... all is fine until it's not.
Why do we still have so many people smoke cigarettes today when it has been proven that smoking cause health issues.

I've been in contact with people that have told me that their health was important to them while they were lighting up a cigarette.
If your health is important to you, you have to prove it with actions rather than words and there's a pretty extensive list that you have to follow.
If you, for example, eat healthy but still smoke cigarettes - it means that you don't care about your health.

Health is not about looking like a magazine cover. It's about paying attention to what you consume and do with your body. Don't take your health for granted because you will regret it once it starts to fade away.

Stop Drinking Sugary Drinks

Clever marketing campaigns have sold people on the idea that things such has diet sodas are healthy. While we can argue that they are an healthier alternative than the sugar packed regular sodas, they are definitely not healthy.

A recent study has shown that diet soda may be linked to an increase risk of strokes and other diseases.

I would argue that the term "diet" should be removed from the diet soda cans altogether. Nobody, who's serious about dieting, have included such items as diet sodas as part of their diets.
One of the problems with the sugar derivatives (other than the potential health risks), such as Aspartame, is the fact that they are sweeter to the taste than regular sugars and it increases our craving for more sugar as a result.

Sugar is a drug with the power to kill us when consumed in large amounts.

Instead of drinking sugary drinks - why not just add slice of lemons or oranges to regular water? Or try non sugary sparkly water?

Remove the Training Wheels and GO

When I was about 5 years old, a friend of mine came over to my house with his bicycle and I noticed there was something different with his bike compared to mine - he didn’t have any training wheels!
There was no way I would let my friend be the only one riding around without training wheels. I went in the garage and removed the training wheels myself. Then, with my friend’s encouragement, I rode the bike out of the garage. My first ride was bumpy but I soon got the hang of things.

My dad was pretty proud of me that day. Needless to say that he was expecting to be more involved in that process.

If it wasn't for my friend, I probably would of rode my bike with training wheels for a few more months before mustering up the courage to ride without them.
Sometimes, the best, and quickest, way of learning something is to remove the training wheels and just go. Sure, you might fail the first few tries but you'll get the hang of things. If you're fortunate enough to have a mentor encourage and walk you through the process - that's even better. Let's face it though, we do not often come across mentors for every single things we want to accomplish or learn.

Recession?

Historically, we’ve had a market correction (A.K.A Recession) every 10 years or so with the last one being in 2008. We’re overdue for one - so where is it?

One of the problem with recession prediction is that there’s a new one made every year. This suggest that while it is possible to identify patterns with the economy, predicting its future with any sort of certainty is a little bit like trying to predict the weather - anything can change at a moment's notice. What is true today is not necessarily true tomorrow.
Our economy is global and every single person is contributing to it. There are markets created and dying every day.

There are, however, signs that may suggest that a recession is at our doorsteps. Those are:

• We're over due for one - The economy isn't perfect because those that affect it are not perfect. Historically, there's been one every 10 years or so and it's been 11 years since our last big one in 2008. We're overdue for a correction - this is not only to be expected but a natural process of this imperfect economy.
• America’s Tarifs - The tarifs are creating uncertainty throughout the world.
• House Sales are down - The cause of the last recession was largely due to the housing markets. There are signs that it's heading in the same direction as it did in 2008.
• The unemployment rate is at a all time low - How can this possibility signal that a recession is coming? There's always a calm before the storm. The employment rate is about the same as they were in the 2008's recession.
• Global Warming - What does the actual weather have to do with the economy? Businesses can't run when everything around it is either burning, flooding or getting destroyed by strong wind. For the economy to run, you need people at work and buy things.
• Going Out of Business - Big companies, such as Toys R Us, Sears, Payless Shoes... have closed down their doors in the last few years.

While no 2 recessions are alike, you do not need to be an economist to be able to identify patterns.
A recession is not always a bad thing either, there are a lot of money moving around during those times and some of that can land in your pockets if you know what you're doing.

Society's Pressure on Kids

A few years back, I had bought a Disney princess painting kit for my friend’s 4 year old daughter. When I gave it to her, we took the paint out and started using it on the picture of the princesses. The mom soon interjected and was criticizing her daughter's painting and giving tips - telling her that she should be painting within the lines and such.

I was shocked. What I saw was society telling a little girl how to be creative. Let me tell you something, kids don’t need anyone to tell them how to create. It comes instinctively for them. Give them something and they’ll make something else out of it. Art is not about coloring within some predefined lines, it’s about making your own rules.

This is, of course, only one area where society pushes its preconceived notions on the next generation.

Sure, there are important principles to follow for some disciplines in order to achieve anything worthwhile. If we think about fitness goals, for example, we know that we must follow a specific set of rules in order to attain a specific set of results. If we don’t, then who knows where we’ll end up.

Don’t touch the arts though. Let kids do what the heck they want with the pen and paper. Maybe the only rule they should have is not to draw on the walls?