Date: March 29, 2010
I've notice something about my life. I make bad choices. Why is that?
Why is it that I smoke? I fully realize that smoking is a dangerous activity. It puts me at risk for numerous health problems. Why do I eat foods that over the long run will negatively effect my health? I fully realize that a poor diet will clog my arteries, raise my blood pressure, and overall make me feel like crap.
I have this logical understanding of the consequences of what I do, yet I still do them.
It seems to me (based on my own experience and observations of others) that human beings tend to live in the present. They have this window with which they view time, and for most of us that window doesn't span farther than the near present. This perspective on life, leads us to ignore inevitable facts. We would rather live in the present than face the inevitable realities of the future.
By expanding that window with which we view time, we can see what will happen to us in the future. Yes, I will get a smoking related disease in the future. There's no doubt in my mind. Yes, I will develop health problems because I don't eat healthy. Yes, my body will apostrophe and become old because I don't exercise.
I can see the future, and you can too if you just look. Don't ignore the future that you see, because it's not set in stone. You can change the future by changing your actions today. Small changes in your life will effect the future.
So today, I will stop smoking. Today I will eat a good portion of fruits and vegetables. Today, I will get out and move my body around. I will not ignore the future, because someday, it will be the present. If that present is not what I want, I have only myself to blame.
This is a video I found some time ago about the commonalities between centenarians.
Dan Buettner on TED: How To Live To Be 100