The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

Want to hear something, well, depressing? Americans are saving at the worst rate since the Great Depression. 

Europeans save an average of 20%, Japanese 25%, and Chinese save 50%. Americans? We’re stuck at a lousy 1%. 

We promise ourselves to put away more in savings, pay credit card debt completely each month, curb our spending habits…Yet those intentions rarely materialize.

One reason for our failings is rooted in our head vs. heart battle. We all act differently when emotions trump rationality. Temptation, procrastination, and lust are all forms of emotion that easily best a rational decision. 

Often, we treat our car maintenance emotionally instead of reasonably. The dealer may recommend timely oil changes or 10,000-mile checkups, but we often wait for the car to become dysfunctional before attending to it. The same applies to our preventive health checkups. All people are recommended to get a colonoscopy at the age of 50. If we all were to follow this recommendation, we could end colon cancer as a major killer in the U.S. But most of us don’t. 

In fact, there are few preventive gestures, other than mandated ones like polio and measles vaccinations, where Americans show a willingness to be rational rather than emotional. Reimbursed preventive care represents around 3% of our $3.5 trillion health care budget. That’s why about half of our nation’s total Medicare spend occurs within the last year of life.

So what can we do as this Healthrageous community in which we all participate? Perhaps the best way to be held accountable for good Intentions is to pick one or more “buddy” with whom you share your earnest, but achievable goal. 

By articulating a commitment to another human being, whose opinion you value, you will be increasing the likelihood that your good intentions are not just empty promises. Be it a “Dry January,” or contesting on the Biggest Loser, your opportunity for changing behaviors that are not enhancing your health will benefit from self-imposed accountability.

Click HERE to request information to activate your chronically ill Medicare seniors with the convenience of simple choices to eat nutritious, diabetic and cardiac-friendly meals.

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