Life is like X Box

My Late wife’s cancer diagnosis in December of 23 launched me into a desperate quest to find the why of it all. In the process of my personal research, I came across an interesting data set that characterized the cumulative nature of cancer mortality in the human condition.  

It’s a dismal chart( of shitty quality)  – We are doomed. The longer we live – the higher our chances are of getting cancer. 

Bullshit…………………

There is a reason that chart looks like that. We are not predetermined to get cancer, some of us may be genetically predisposed, but for the majority of us – a more likely answer is:  

we are doing something over time that tips the scales in favor of cancer.

Years ago I played X box with my sons. Call of duty was the game of choice.

There were things that were hits to your life bar and things that were plus ups to your life bar. You know where I’m going.

Real life is like that. We do things that are bad for us and things that are good for us…. often in the same day…. Because we are humans. Imperfect marvels of creation.

Perhaps by changing behaviors earlier in the game (your life) we can turn the tide in our favor, and extend our life bar……..and play the game longer.  

So ….  eating better and having healthier rituals is not an old person thing – it’s a young person thing if you really want it to count.  

– You remember what your grandmother used to say – “ an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” - that really is good advice.

…. All too often you see folks at the market who are entering the game way late ………. And they have that look of desperation in the eyes – someone looking for answers because they have gotten a wakeup call.

A customer I interviewed a couple of years back put it best when I asked him what problem my pastured meats solved for him & he said -  “Your chicken helps me in my long game of life”

I was always moved by that answer and still go back to it time and again. I have not seen Stephen and Tess in a while – I hope they doing well.  

Todays question is what are you doing to fight the long game ? 

The better question is: What are you not doing ? & the long game is playing out on its own because of your inaction ?  That’s scarier.  

I was in the Army for 30+ years. We had a fighting construct called deep, close, rear. The construct is a mental picture of the battlefield – the close fight is the now, the in-your-face actions and maneuver of the units.

In other words - day-to-day life. Surviving the now.  

The deep fight was - what are doing now to shape future outcomes.

In other words – what are you doing now to maximize the plusses to your life bar ?

Here is what I have learned in the Army:  The more time you spend being offensive in thought (proactive action, deep fighting, shaping the future) the less time you will spend being defensive, reactionary, & in survival mode……. & having that desperate look in your eyes as you seek a cure.

Let’s be offensive. Lets fight deep and add to and not take away from our life bar.

There is no magic list I am going to give you. Every one of us has to sift through life and find their own answers. In truth, it is the quest or the journey itself that will solidify your path.

But – there are a few things that are no brainers:

First, How you fuel your body matters. I have blogged about the western diet before but mostly regarding the omega 6/3 ratio  - but the farther I go down lifes road, the more broken I think it is.

We have real, much bigger problems that a damn skewed ratio. Our whole paradigm of what’s ok needs a relook.

The scary part is society will not do that for you. You must do it yourself. For god sakes - It took us 50 years to say outload that smoking was harmful.  So – don’t wait ..............form an opinion.

              I am not a doom and gloom guy, I just subscribe to:

Pay attention to what you eat and drink. Eat better , Live longer.    

Second, create everyday rituals that are offensive & add to your life bar (aka – the deep fight).

Third - Exercise disciplined moderation or prohibition to those things that you know are hits to your life bar.

Last, develop strategies of survival in our commercial food landscape that minimizes hits to your life bar. (i.e. skip the fries)

Be Offensive. Fight deep. Extend your life bar.