Currin Davis's Blog
September 2, 2022
Combing Through The Weeds
So, let's start the first post by combing through some weeds! The dawn of the information age has been phenomenal, I mean I'm 50. This means I grew up going to the library to do research. I didn't have a cell phone til I was married and it required a cigarette lighter for power. My first in-home internet sounded like an impressionist doing sound effects with his mouth and floppy disks were a thing. Now, absolutely everything is at your fingertips thanks to companies like Apple. While some of you may respectfully disagree, this is a good thing.
I will however, concede that it can and does get used for bad things, really bad things. But today, we will forego that discussion and just talk about information overload. Truly, it's too much. How many times have you done a search and hours later realized you had gone down a thousand rabbit holes? I'm guessing, everyone of us. That topic is basically moot since once you start scrolling; you're on your own. Well technically, you're never on your own when you're online. Programmers have developed countless cyber tools to monitor your clicks, searches, preferences, and purchase behavior. You are a plethora of data waiting to be harvested, marketed to, and algorithmized (Not a word, but should be.)
Moving on, let's discuss the information itself. Back in the day (I love saying that), you would have a few avenues to get the information you wanted, a relative, a friend, or a member of the community. So Grandma might tell you to have seconds at dinner, while your doctor might tell you to stop after just one plate. You figured your doctor knew more, but Grandma's cooking hadn't killed Grandpa yet, so maybe you ate a little more and kept going.
About five years ago, I started digging into nutrition, health, and weight control. Putting the cards on the table, aging is a natural and mostly, beautiful process; but, it can wreak havoc on your body and mind if you let it. You cannot stop aging and we aren't meant to do so, but the abuse and neglect that we candidly get away with in our younger years, catches up. The good news is that it's never too late to start fresh and get healthy. Hence, the research began. I wasn't prepared for what I found. (still not).
There are opinions, pills, equipment, and shakes for every ailment, body type, and age. Shamelessly using influencers, celebrities (probably without their consent), and misleading taglines, marketers and fitness gurus try to win you over to their camp and way of thinking. And as soon as you do that first search, speak out loud, or possibly even think about a topic, your social media is flooded with every entrepreneurial wanna-be's quick fix. I mean, honestly, "take this, do this before bed, don't eat this, stop doing this, start doing that....". It is a literal bacterial breeding ground. After months of doing research, I was worse off than when I began. The old 'calories in and calories out' only works if you are pear-shaped, under 30, have one ear slightly higher than the other, and a freckle on your left butt cheek. Seriously, it was that confusing. And how many grams of protein can one person actually consume in one day? I mean, come on.
Seriously Lisa, it isn't that hard. Exercise and eat right. It's all crap. All the gimmicks, promises, trials, reports, and testimonials are proverbial garbage. Sure, one way might work for some people and another way for others; but the 'count calories, no macros, no wait; fast instead' is an endless array on nonsense. I am in no way discounting what people have accomplished doing whatever routine or regime that worked for them, what I am discounting is the conundrum of contradictory information that exists. How is any normal, inquisitive person of average (be nice to me) intelligence suppose to know what the heck is even happening. The most I got out of those five years of research was that people were trying desperately to get ahead in world of online businesses by stretching, exaggerating, and misrepresenting facts, results, data and findings. I shouldn't be surprised, right? After all my degrees are in business, I know all about marketing tactics and keywords.
Now to the point, as I have combed through the weeds of healthy habits as we age, this is what I have found and believe to be true. Everything gets harder as we age. Our bodies react, process, and heal slower. Our metabolism slows, muscle mass diminishes, and skins loses its elasticity. Great, so now what? Apply lotions and creams, botox and lift it, and photoshop it out. Haha, just kidding. What I got from my combing through the weeds, was to work on it. Day in, day out, just keep working towards a better you. Yes, eat healthier, exercise, lift weights, and stay hydrated; but it's a process just like aging. Am I fighting it? Yeah, maybe I am. But, I'm going to choose to think of it as fighting for my body and mind, giving it the best chance at aging gracefully and hitting triple digits. Let's go!
I will however, concede that it can and does get used for bad things, really bad things. But today, we will forego that discussion and just talk about information overload. Truly, it's too much. How many times have you done a search and hours later realized you had gone down a thousand rabbit holes? I'm guessing, everyone of us. That topic is basically moot since once you start scrolling; you're on your own. Well technically, you're never on your own when you're online. Programmers have developed countless cyber tools to monitor your clicks, searches, preferences, and purchase behavior. You are a plethora of data waiting to be harvested, marketed to, and algorithmized (Not a word, but should be.)
Moving on, let's discuss the information itself. Back in the day (I love saying that), you would have a few avenues to get the information you wanted, a relative, a friend, or a member of the community. So Grandma might tell you to have seconds at dinner, while your doctor might tell you to stop after just one plate. You figured your doctor knew more, but Grandma's cooking hadn't killed Grandpa yet, so maybe you ate a little more and kept going.
About five years ago, I started digging into nutrition, health, and weight control. Putting the cards on the table, aging is a natural and mostly, beautiful process; but, it can wreak havoc on your body and mind if you let it. You cannot stop aging and we aren't meant to do so, but the abuse and neglect that we candidly get away with in our younger years, catches up. The good news is that it's never too late to start fresh and get healthy. Hence, the research began. I wasn't prepared for what I found. (still not).
There are opinions, pills, equipment, and shakes for every ailment, body type, and age. Shamelessly using influencers, celebrities (probably without their consent), and misleading taglines, marketers and fitness gurus try to win you over to their camp and way of thinking. And as soon as you do that first search, speak out loud, or possibly even think about a topic, your social media is flooded with every entrepreneurial wanna-be's quick fix. I mean, honestly, "take this, do this before bed, don't eat this, stop doing this, start doing that....". It is a literal bacterial breeding ground. After months of doing research, I was worse off than when I began. The old 'calories in and calories out' only works if you are pear-shaped, under 30, have one ear slightly higher than the other, and a freckle on your left butt cheek. Seriously, it was that confusing. And how many grams of protein can one person actually consume in one day? I mean, come on.
Seriously Lisa, it isn't that hard. Exercise and eat right. It's all crap. All the gimmicks, promises, trials, reports, and testimonials are proverbial garbage. Sure, one way might work for some people and another way for others; but the 'count calories, no macros, no wait; fast instead' is an endless array on nonsense. I am in no way discounting what people have accomplished doing whatever routine or regime that worked for them, what I am discounting is the conundrum of contradictory information that exists. How is any normal, inquisitive person of average (be nice to me) intelligence suppose to know what the heck is even happening. The most I got out of those five years of research was that people were trying desperately to get ahead in world of online businesses by stretching, exaggerating, and misrepresenting facts, results, data and findings. I shouldn't be surprised, right? After all my degrees are in business, I know all about marketing tactics and keywords.
Now to the point, as I have combed through the weeds of healthy habits as we age, this is what I have found and believe to be true. Everything gets harder as we age. Our bodies react, process, and heal slower. Our metabolism slows, muscle mass diminishes, and skins loses its elasticity. Great, so now what? Apply lotions and creams, botox and lift it, and photoshop it out. Haha, just kidding. What I got from my combing through the weeds, was to work on it. Day in, day out, just keep working towards a better you. Yes, eat healthier, exercise, lift weights, and stay hydrated; but it's a process just like aging. Am I fighting it? Yeah, maybe I am. But, I'm going to choose to think of it as fighting for my body and mind, giving it the best chance at aging gracefully and hitting triple digits. Let's go!
IMPROVE
Improve
I think it's interesting that we are obsessed with two seemingly opposite notions. One is the self-help movement and the other is the 'I am enough' mindset. While both are completely legitimate and worthwhile notions, it takes a minute to reconcile in your mind. So, let's differentiate.
The first is self-help. I think most people would agree, improvement is a good thing. Although daunting, it's a natural course of action. Sure we tend to resist change, especially the older we get and more set in our ways. After all, there is a comfort that comes from things staying the same. Predictability is somewhat reassuring, although arguably boring. It's interesting that we aren't particularly fond of changing ourselves or our environment, but we are strongly opinionated about how other people need changing and improving, especially if that improvement benefits us in some way. On the other hand, we can be petty and jealous of those who have jumped on the self-help band wagon. But if we are being honest, change happens all around us whether we choose to be a part of it or not. The world is changing, rapidly. Ideas, theories, cultural norms, and socially accepted behavior are changing faster than advancements in medicine or technology. Granted this is probably because the later is fueled by money or lack therefore, with the former being fueled by idealism and passions.
Another recent peg in the wheel is the pandemic which brought the world to an unprecedented halt. Exponentially catapulted by having considerable time at home, isolated, self-help sales skyrocketed and materials flew off the shelves. Leaving only guilt for those, like me, who did not use all of their time 'productively' to turn themselves into perfectly fit and fabulous! The good news is that it also brought awareness to the ever-growing mental health crisis. Being isolated and fearful, it became even more acceptable to confront and face depression, anxiety, and self-deprecating behaviors. Millions flocked to social media to offer reality checks, hard, cold-truths, and unapologetic understanding and acceptance of mental health struggles and those suffering alone.
Such struggles and innate human vulnerabilities have also contributed to the 'I am enough' mindset. The subject of countless books, articles, and media content, it embodies the concept that even flawed and imperfect, every individual is enough and worthy of unconditional love and support. We can accept those imperfections as beautifully individualistic and those mistakes as guides to change and the building blocks for moral fortitude.
Therefore, while on the surface, the ideas of improving and already being enough seem somewhat contradictory, I surmise that they can and should work collaboratively to strengthen the very fiber of our beings. Wherever we are in our journey of this life, wherever we stand at this very moment; we are enough to be worthy of grace, love, and acceptance. Having that knowledge and empowerment can fuel our desire to steadily improve and grow our resolve to be everything we were designed to be, to reach our unlimited potential, and to light the way for everyone around us; for they are worthy too. Giving unconditional love is just as important as receiving it.
So as we accept who we are and, perhaps more importantly, who others are, we can individually and collectively become better. I know I have work to do and I'll plug along continuing to try. Some days I'll succeed and some days, I'll fail. However, at the end of every day, rain or shine, I am enough and so are you.
I think it's interesting that we are obsessed with two seemingly opposite notions. One is the self-help movement and the other is the 'I am enough' mindset. While both are completely legitimate and worthwhile notions, it takes a minute to reconcile in your mind. So, let's differentiate.
The first is self-help. I think most people would agree, improvement is a good thing. Although daunting, it's a natural course of action. Sure we tend to resist change, especially the older we get and more set in our ways. After all, there is a comfort that comes from things staying the same. Predictability is somewhat reassuring, although arguably boring. It's interesting that we aren't particularly fond of changing ourselves or our environment, but we are strongly opinionated about how other people need changing and improving, especially if that improvement benefits us in some way. On the other hand, we can be petty and jealous of those who have jumped on the self-help band wagon. But if we are being honest, change happens all around us whether we choose to be a part of it or not. The world is changing, rapidly. Ideas, theories, cultural norms, and socially accepted behavior are changing faster than advancements in medicine or technology. Granted this is probably because the later is fueled by money or lack therefore, with the former being fueled by idealism and passions.
Another recent peg in the wheel is the pandemic which brought the world to an unprecedented halt. Exponentially catapulted by having considerable time at home, isolated, self-help sales skyrocketed and materials flew off the shelves. Leaving only guilt for those, like me, who did not use all of their time 'productively' to turn themselves into perfectly fit and fabulous! The good news is that it also brought awareness to the ever-growing mental health crisis. Being isolated and fearful, it became even more acceptable to confront and face depression, anxiety, and self-deprecating behaviors. Millions flocked to social media to offer reality checks, hard, cold-truths, and unapologetic understanding and acceptance of mental health struggles and those suffering alone.
Such struggles and innate human vulnerabilities have also contributed to the 'I am enough' mindset. The subject of countless books, articles, and media content, it embodies the concept that even flawed and imperfect, every individual is enough and worthy of unconditional love and support. We can accept those imperfections as beautifully individualistic and those mistakes as guides to change and the building blocks for moral fortitude.
Therefore, while on the surface, the ideas of improving and already being enough seem somewhat contradictory, I surmise that they can and should work collaboratively to strengthen the very fiber of our beings. Wherever we are in our journey of this life, wherever we stand at this very moment; we are enough to be worthy of grace, love, and acceptance. Having that knowledge and empowerment can fuel our desire to steadily improve and grow our resolve to be everything we were designed to be, to reach our unlimited potential, and to light the way for everyone around us; for they are worthy too. Giving unconditional love is just as important as receiving it.
So as we accept who we are and, perhaps more importantly, who others are, we can individually and collectively become better. I know I have work to do and I'll plug along continuing to try. Some days I'll succeed and some days, I'll fail. However, at the end of every day, rain or shine, I am enough and so are you.
