New Year's Resolutions
#274. Why do we make New Year's resolutions? Is it because we have become so complacent in our lives that we need this little reminder to wake up? Why do we live our lives with short term goals and instant gratification for 11 months out of the year, then on January 1st, we decide it's time to turn over a new leaf? So we hit the gym, change our diet, save our money. But for how long? Until the overwhelming desire for instant gratification takes over again? How about resolving to work on the 'cause' and not the 'symptoms' in our lives in 2006?
Being overweight or having no savings is a "symptom" we can work on, but will be a struggle for the entire year unless we work on the "cause." In my opinion, the cause is hasty decision making which grant us instant gratification, with little or no regard for our weight, our money, and our future. Television, media, and society promote this unsavory feature in us. Why don't we realize the uselessness of resolutions aimed at symptoms? Why....? Because television has tainted logical thinking. You see, we have already been brainwashed to seek instant rewards and gratification, regardless of our future condition, as the cure to all our problems, because WE DESERVE IT. THAT is the problem.
Our laziness is the path of least resistance, in which television takes full advantage. We would rather come home and sit on the couch and be entertained than seek alternate methods of recreation and exercise which cause us pain and grant no instant euphoria. TV promotes this behavior, creating, modifying, and condoning an erroneous core belief.
On a side note, our children are suffering greatly from this, and we really have no idea of what lies ahead. When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to come home and plop in front of MTV or an XBox. We played outside, we rode our bikes, we raked leaves, and came in when the sun set, and were usually covered in sweat and grass. Why can't TV promote a healthier, smarter way of living? Or the importance of turning off the TV and doing something beneficial for your self?
Would a television program about denying your self-serving impulses contradict the "buy it now!" message in commercials? Of course. So you will never see such an animal. Nor will you ever see a commercial about the brainwashing TV programs perform. TV programs and commercials both work on instant gratification in some form or another. They need each other to facilitate their existence. As a matter fact they team up on us. Besides, your brainwashed, weak minded impulses are what make both businesses prosper and grow stronger.
Why can't televisions come with a warning label on the outside of the cardboard box, like those you see on CD's? Or how about a warning broadcast that interrupts your viewing every half hour to remind you of how much time you are wasting? Or how about a commercial noting how many calories you didn't burn, as you sat there sucking down a diet Coke? What about a McDonald's commercial with a pre-warning informing that you can eat better and have a healthier, more functional family if you make dinner, sit down together, and eat with the TV off? I don't think McDonald's has anybodies best interest. Yet my kid loves their Fries, and I give him whatever he wants. In moderation of course.
Our New Year's resolutions should not pertain to our weight, our money, or our love lives. They should focus on better decision making skills and long term goals. If so, we wouldn't have a weight problem, a meager savings account, nor en erroneous perception of whom Mr. or Ms. Right is. We can make better decisions more easily if we don't let our core beliefs become infiltrated by television. Once we get past the instant gratification dilemma, and stop living vicariously through TV stars, THEN, will we start to think on our own, understand who we really are, and what we really need. THEN, we will confidently "pass" on that Quarter Pounder with Cheese or that $5 Starbucks Frapuccino. I'm not saying we don't deserve rewards and instant gratifications. I'm saying that we need to think twice about how many times we've spent 5 bucks on a cup of coffee this month, or how many thousands of calories we've ingested on unhealthy food, or how many hours we've let our televisions have their way with our decision making skills.
I wish all who read my (somewhat incoherent) rambling the best decision making in 2006. If the urge for instant gratification becomes too overwhelming, and you struggle to stay in control, remember, "this too, shall pass."
On the flip side... Sometimes you just gotta say "#&@% IT!"
Happy New Year.
Eric De Anda
Counter
Being overweight or having no savings is a "symptom" we can work on, but will be a struggle for the entire year unless we work on the "cause." In my opinion, the cause is hasty decision making which grant us instant gratification, with little or no regard for our weight, our money, and our future. Television, media, and society promote this unsavory feature in us. Why don't we realize the uselessness of resolutions aimed at symptoms? Why....? Because television has tainted logical thinking. You see, we have already been brainwashed to seek instant rewards and gratification, regardless of our future condition, as the cure to all our problems, because WE DESERVE IT. THAT is the problem.
Our laziness is the path of least resistance, in which television takes full advantage. We would rather come home and sit on the couch and be entertained than seek alternate methods of recreation and exercise which cause us pain and grant no instant euphoria. TV promotes this behavior, creating, modifying, and condoning an erroneous core belief.
On a side note, our children are suffering greatly from this, and we really have no idea of what lies ahead. When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to come home and plop in front of MTV or an XBox. We played outside, we rode our bikes, we raked leaves, and came in when the sun set, and were usually covered in sweat and grass. Why can't TV promote a healthier, smarter way of living? Or the importance of turning off the TV and doing something beneficial for your self?
Would a television program about denying your self-serving impulses contradict the "buy it now!" message in commercials? Of course. So you will never see such an animal. Nor will you ever see a commercial about the brainwashing TV programs perform. TV programs and commercials both work on instant gratification in some form or another. They need each other to facilitate their existence. As a matter fact they team up on us. Besides, your brainwashed, weak minded impulses are what make both businesses prosper and grow stronger.
Why can't televisions come with a warning label on the outside of the cardboard box, like those you see on CD's? Or how about a warning broadcast that interrupts your viewing every half hour to remind you of how much time you are wasting? Or how about a commercial noting how many calories you didn't burn, as you sat there sucking down a diet Coke? What about a McDonald's commercial with a pre-warning informing that you can eat better and have a healthier, more functional family if you make dinner, sit down together, and eat with the TV off? I don't think McDonald's has anybodies best interest. Yet my kid loves their Fries, and I give him whatever he wants. In moderation of course.
Our New Year's resolutions should not pertain to our weight, our money, or our love lives. They should focus on better decision making skills and long term goals. If so, we wouldn't have a weight problem, a meager savings account, nor en erroneous perception of whom Mr. or Ms. Right is. We can make better decisions more easily if we don't let our core beliefs become infiltrated by television. Once we get past the instant gratification dilemma, and stop living vicariously through TV stars, THEN, will we start to think on our own, understand who we really are, and what we really need. THEN, we will confidently "pass" on that Quarter Pounder with Cheese or that $5 Starbucks Frapuccino. I'm not saying we don't deserve rewards and instant gratifications. I'm saying that we need to think twice about how many times we've spent 5 bucks on a cup of coffee this month, or how many thousands of calories we've ingested on unhealthy food, or how many hours we've let our televisions have their way with our decision making skills.
I wish all who read my (somewhat incoherent) rambling the best decision making in 2006. If the urge for instant gratification becomes too overwhelming, and you struggle to stay in control, remember, "this too, shall pass."
On the flip side... Sometimes you just gotta say "#&@% IT!"
Happy New Year.
Eric De Anda
Counter
posted by E | 2:25 AM
1 Comments:
BRAVO! Beautifully put Eric! IT is funny how many of us say that we are not easily influenced, but the truth is that even if our entertainment is that of the media, hollywood, celebrities, rappers ect. we are being fed by them.
WEll, now that I am a parent I need to be fully responsible of what my kids are being fed. How many of us wouly let our kids get into a fight by the neighborhood bully or be sedueced by a babysitter? Well, television, x-box and other media related tools do just that.
Just the same, we should be aware that our kids learn by the words we use too! By saying shut up! ,Stupid!, Oh my God! ect just teaches them to use them.
Anyways, like I started out saying, "well put Eric".
JILL
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