1:00pm | Entitlement, defined by Merriam Webster online dictionary is “a right to benefits specified especially by law or contract.” Last time I checked, there was nothing on your birth certificate which stated you had the right to live 100 quality years of life. But with every cigarette lit, greasy food ingested, and hour spent sedentary, we have an entitled attitude, should we expect to live life with no ailments to follow. So if we are not entitled to health, would it be safe to say that we are denied? This question is crucial, and it depends on what perspective you have.
While glancing over CSULB’s Fitness Majors Association Facebook page, there was a status update that I felt really answered my question. The status update read, “Be a warrior for your health.” I liked that statement very much. For one, the statement is encouraging and positive. But even more importantly, it provided validation of what I had been reading in Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles”.
Canfield’s very first chapter is dedicated to making people understand that their own life is their own responsibility. In other words, nobody owes you anything: not your momma, your boss, or the government. The book really advocates throwing away the blame game and the related excuses that have been limiting success. More specifically, it advocates changing ones responses to events which would create new and sought-after outcomes.
What do I mean? Well, just as getting married (event) and making time for your spouse (response) would most likely lead to a longer marriage (outcome), so too must the person be proactive with their health. I often hear the excuse, “They make me eat out all the time at work, that’s why I’m fat.” Are your workers to blame for what you choose to put in your mouth? Really?
How about you do this: Instead of accepting the lunch invite to the burger joint (event), and just going along with the flow (response), begin to do your own research, and find that hidden lunch spot and menu option that will cater to you caloric goals (new response). With more folks taking the initiative to find the most healthful food on lunch breaks, could you imagine what new outcomes may surface?
The hard truth is health isn’t entitled to anybody, and I’d like to think it isn’t necessarily denied either. In fact, I’d like to think of your health as being in your hands. Health is up for grabs, analogous to an NBA tip-off. The benefits derived from good health are dependent on your every action every single day.