It’s been said that attitude determines your altitude in life, and it’s not just the aspects that are paramount. Attitude makes its impact on the seemingly insignificant as well. Let’s take a closer look at brushing teeth and the attitude that we bring to it. Most people feel that brushing is an inconvenience. People don’t wake up in the morning jumping out of bed to do it, and sometimes brush quickly or forgo it completely if they’re too tired or lazy. It’s no wonder that according to the latest statistics more than 80 percent of adults in the U.S. population is affected by periodontal disease. Everyone knows that they have to brush well and floss everyday, but no one seems to care because the consequences aren’t felt decades later when they have to be fitted for dentures.
When you are faced with something that you might not want to do, but know you should do anyway, here is the correct attitude to have: realize that it needs to be done, and it needs to be done well. This is an important attitude to cultivate because there are several key areas in life that fall in the “you might not want to but you know you should” category. Some major categories include money (keeping track of where it all goes, investing, and reading up on what’s the best financial plan), health (eating more fruits and vegestables, exercising, and reading up on what’s the best health plan), and knowledge (reading tough sources of information, journaling, and reading up on what makes a good mental plan).
Everyone knows the fundamentals of these important categories, but just like brushing, we often don’t see the fatal consequences until it’s a disaster. For money, the basic tenet is don’t spend more than you make. Our nation sets itself up for failure because we are so reliant on credit. Mos people carry with them 5 credit cards, which they don’t pay off in time, and the government has a national debt in the trillions. For health, the basic tenets are eat well and exercise. Two words describe how poorly people’s health is: couch potato and fast foods. Most people lead sedentary lives and compound the problem by gorging on highly processed foods. For knowledge, the basic tenet is to challenge your mind with continual learning and deep books. Sadly, most of people’s education ends with college, and technology such as twitter and texting is increasingly making people’s thinking superficial.
If you have the attitude that all this is an inconvenience, then slowly but surely every aspect of your life will diminish. You won’t brush well and eventually lose your teeth. You won’t keep track of your finances and eventually lose your money. You won’t exercise or eat well and eventually lose your health. You won’t read the important books and eventually lose your mind. When you lose enough things, you will eventually lose your life.