Three Things You Can't Do Right Now
Broadening your aspiration for wellness.
Did you ever think there would be tiny TVs at the gas pump? Now, when I fill up my car, I can strain to hear business news or watch Better Together, a brief wellness program hosted by a former E! News anchor. Better Together is like a slice of American cheese: packaged, uniform, and unsatisfying. Each day, the glamorous host dispenses one actionable wellness tip: drink more water, use a label maker to organize your files, always put your keys in the same place, etc.
Why, I sometimes wonder as the fumes reach my brain, is nearly all wellness content advice something to do? Eat more of this, drink less of that, sit in meditation more, sit at your desk less. It’s not that these lifestyle changes are unimportant, but somehow the world of fitness and wellness has gotten amazingly small, so that each day is an opportunity (a test?) for you to marshal willpower and finally meditate, stretch, eat more veggies, or quit Instagram. The prevalence of these life hacks have almost completely decoupled our personal well-being with that of friends and strangers around us.
Just yesterday I heard an episode from the On the Media podcast about the long, systemic history of black and brown people denied opportunities for homeownership and dealt unbelievably high eviction rates. While we don’t need to stop exercising or meditating until equity is achieved, it’s worth lowering the pressure on our own Fitbit performance given that so many good, decent people are not anywhere close to being stable or prosperous enough to take a leisurely walk or count their breaths in a neat corner of their house.
Instead of obsessing over an individual Fitbit, it’s good to keep tabs on our overall health and prosperity – a societal Fitbit!
There are many benefits to broadening your aspiration. One is that you become less obsessive about your own ups and downs. When you link your own desire for betterment with the universal desire for health and security, you abandon a small brittle shell and enter a stream of opportunity. How can I be of use? Where is there a way I can help right now? Unfortunately, for Gas Station TV, this can’t be achieved in a ten second clip.
As someone who has yielded days of his life to looking for lost belongings, I can acknowledge the wisdom in some of these “tips.” But I’m interested in looking around the ten second soft focus clip, around the tiny step to make my life feel more balanced. What could help push someone’s life more into balance in a fundamental way? Quality health insurance? More money? Help around the house?
It’s a muscle I don’t use nearly enough. And we can start the workout anytime.
1, 2, 3, Go.
