Self Inflicted Pain and Misery

I hit Walmart the other day. That's something I don't often do . . . shop Walmart. It's just not my thing. First, I don't usually do the shopping. That's something Wifey likes to do and I stay out of that domain of our domestic life together. Second, what I usually buy is not worth the drive to the nearest outlet.

So I finish my Walmart shopping and line up at the check out stand. For a guy who doesn't do the shopping I later discover I've put $140 worth of stuff in the basket. Ahead of me is a guy breathing off of one of those portable oxygen bottles. He leaves and the cashier starts my order. She glances over at Oxygen Man as he leaves the store.

Cashier: Poor guy.

Me: Why?

Cashier: He's got to lug that oxygen bottle around. No doubt he's got problems breathing. I feel sorry for him.

Me: No sympathy here. This guy did it to himself.

Cashier: What? How so?

Me: No doubt he was a smoker. Now he's got emphysema. He did it to himself. What he now lives with was self inflicted. No sympathy from me. No doubt he knew that smoking might one day lead to this. And think about this guy's second hand smoke. What did it do to his loved ones?

Okay, sounds cold hearted but it's true. There are scads of people out there whining and crying about poor me, poor me over self inflicted issues. Who's to blame for their misery or for their issues? They're to blame.

Think about over eating. Yup. We're a nation of people who love, love, love to eat. What's the consequence?

First is being overweight. Can't fit into your clothes.

Second is being way overweight. The experts call this being obese.

Down the line come the issues linked with obesity. Knee and hip problems. Trouble walking. The arteries start to harden with this type of self inflicted problem then you've got really big issues with your heart. Major self inflicted issues. People in this category did it to themselves. No sympathy. It's all about what you eat and how much.

Most Americans dies of heart disease and guess why? It's all about self inflicted eating habits.

Liver or kidneys crapping out? Self inflicted via alcohol consumption.

Diabetes? You're eating all wrong. Better change up.

No sympathy for anyone there.

I get really pissed when the premiums for our health insurance go up every year. This year we're forking out 14k plus for insurance. The increases are mostly related to self inflicted health issues. That's what the health insurance dudes claim.

Then there are personal issues that are self inflicted. Like it's all about the story of the grasshopper and the ant? Remember that one? Grasshopper screws around and doesn't plan for winter. Ant works his tail off and is eating high on the hog year 'round.

There's a lot of people out there who are not planning for the autumn or for the winter of their lives. No schooling. Never cared about that. And regardless of the schooling if there's a good paying job none of what's earned is paid into a retirement account.

With all of the baby bombers (I like this better than boomer) retiring you're starting to hear all the whining. "I can't retire 'cause there's no money to retire with." and then the fingers start pointing at Social Security . . . that it's going broke and that there will be nothing for them when they want to hang that job up. Self inflicted personal issues. Definitely.

Social Security was never ever meant to fully fund anyone's retirement. At its onset Social Security was designed to be a supplemental income and not the primary source. Most people don't get that.

Money issues can be easy to remedy if you budget and live within your means. Saving for retirement can be as simple as cutting up those credit cards, go cash only and set aside a percentage of your earnings every month. I did it . So can you.

I could go on and probably you could too with examples of self infliction both with yourself (and I'm guilty of that too) and others around you. Or you could rebut my premise of self infliction as being bunk and that no one is to blame for any of this. Sure, blame it on our government, the fast food chains, Wall Street, etc., etc.. But in the end when you really think about it:

LIFE WAS DESIGNED TO BE SIMPLE.

Yup. Simple. Life is simple. We're the ones who screw it up, make it complicated and in so doing create misery and pain for ourselves.

Never too late to change up. You are in charge of your destiny and the quality of life you live. As the saying goes, Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

As corny as that may sound there's a lot of truth to that. It's easier than you think to get out there and change up on some of your habits.

Ya think?