The Great American Bailout

Hello everyone, welcome to my first post! As my profile states I work in big corporate as a "head paper pusher" but my true passion in life is fitness and training. While the idea of sitting at a desk all day, shortening your spine and tightening your hip flexors (all the while fending off huge amounts of stress) sounds wonderful, I would actually prefer to be exercising and helping people reach their training goals. More on that on another post!

Believe it or not, many "corporate world"concepts tie in directly with health and fitness. One such item is the concept of "bailout". Personally, the word bailout drives me nuts. To me it conjures up the idea of being spineless and weak; having others do the work that you should be doing. Mopping up messes YOU created. I believe in personal accountability, and if you fail you fail. No harm in that, at least you gave it your best. For a business, a bailout lets you start at a clean slate via a government handout or a bankruptcy. But the people you have let down suffer the consequences.

On that same token, your health is something that YOU alone need to focus on. Of course there are always congenital issues that cannot be prevented, but the majority of our health issues lay in the hands of the individuals themselves. To me, taking medications is the ultimate BAILOUT. I remember being at a health seminar where we had a certain amount of money to spend and were told we had a headache off and on over the period of a few weeks. Unlike the rest of the table who went to the medical doctor almost immediately, I would not give in and would not go. First I asked if there were any major life changes or undue stress in recent months. I then asked to go to a chiropractor to see if I was out of alignment. Then I asked about hydration. Caffeine. Blood tests. Cortisol levels. Food allergies. I think my partner on the project was really getting PO'd at me, but hey, I didn't want to spend money I didn't have to.

If you are constantly running to the doctor for meds, it's time to look inward. As the economy worsens and health prices skyrocket, pretty soon you will be FORCED into finding alternative ways of handling issues. Of course I'm very happy doctors were able to help my kids with their appendix and tonsillectomy surgeries. But if they are not acute issues, try the scientific method. Find out when things began bothering you. Has anything in your life changed? Sleep patterns? Eating patterns? If possible, try to figure out as much as you can on your own. Your doctor cannot possibly determine all your problems. My challenge for you is to try to keep the "medication bailouts"to a minimum. You owe it to yourself.