Is Our Addiction to "Quick Fixes" Killing Us?

If you've heard of that fitness program called "8-Minute Abs," you should know that there is something even better out there: 7-Minute Abs!

OK, so not really. The idea is loosely borrowed/quoted from the 1998 comedy film "There's Something About Mary," but beneath the funny bits lies something a little more somber: A subtle hint at society's addiction to "Quick Fixes."

0085Apricots.jpg

More and more people are seeking the quick fix. Or so it seems...

It could be for the illness that ails you; it could be for your obesity problem; it could be for getting in shape; it could be for learning something; it could be to reduce your stress; it could be for becoming rich; it could be for investing in Bitcoin.

Is wanting to find a "shortcut" to get from point A to point B necessarily a bad thing? Well, maybe not on the surface, but the deeper problem becomes that we tend to engage in riskier and risker cures, activities and programs to accomplish something that perhaps was never designed or intended to be accomplished quickly.

0085BeachLupin.jpg

Meanwhile, the spiral of risk is perpetuated because idea-makers and marketers realize that people are more inclined to buy speed than quality and sustainability.

"If you just take this pill twice daily for 30 days, you'll lose 25lbs, guaranteed!"

Maybe so, but you're also likely to lose the function of your liver and your kidneys... or something else. People seem to conveniently forget that it might have taken them two YEARS of bad habits to gain those 25lbs.

I won't speculate on why everyone is in such a hurry... I'm more concerned with the potential of our need for speed to actually kill us, rather than cure us.

0085Grass.jpg

Some time back, I was spending a little time in consultation with my physician concerning my hypertension (high blood pressure) and we talked about courses of treatment. In the end, we mostly settled on the slow way: Better eating, losing weight and getting more exercise.

Dr. Rachel also commented that "most people" aren't willing to do something every day for six months or more in order to get results. Of course, being in the medical profession, she sees people every day who are looking for the quick fix; typically citing that they "don't have time" for a slow natural fix.

But it's much more than health we're dealing with.

Part of what ails many aspects of the business and financial world tends to be an excess dependency on short term thinking to get short term results.

0006MiniDaisy.jpg

Some people, of course, advocate that we live in such a chaotic and uncertain world that long term planning is no longer meaningful. What we plan for might not even exist in another six months... so just plan for tomorrow.

Which brings the "loop" back around: What sort of life can we possibly hope to have, as beings that have a life expectancy of some 70+ years... if we never think beyond tomorrow and next week? What sort of life will be have if we only concern ourselves with what is wise today, and don't examine whether it will kill us, three weeks from now?

Not writing this as a criticism of any particular approach... just writing to open a line of inquiry and examination of how human life seems to be unfolding, these days.

Thanks for reading!

How about YOU? Do you think we've become (or ARE becoming) addicted to short term fixes? Is that a bad thing? Or makes no difference? Or simply a result of the ever-quickening pace of modern life? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!


Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, an application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, taken down or demonetized. And that counts for something, these days! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!

PeakDHive.jpg

PHC Logo

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT cross posted anywhere else!)
Created at 20200725 19:15 PDT

0085/1313



0
0
0.000
13 comments
avatar

I think the urge for quick fixes is also what fuels a lot of addictions. Sure, smoking, drinking, or injecting various substances may not actually cure anything, but it's a quick way to not feel the pressure anymore.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Interesting to consider... I think about my own family and its addictive tendencies, and there's always a deeper long term issue someone takes a quick fix for, and then they end up having TWO long term issues to deal with: The original one, and the addiction...

0
0
0.000
avatar

Seeing as you upvoted my post ('what i would do if I had a normal life') I will assume you read it.

There is a big difference between the 'quick fix', and changing the time parameters of thinking ahead.
There are very few 'quickies'- just the illusion of them.

What I think people have to to terms with, is that the (relatively) stable world we have all grown up in, is changing.
A rule of thumb - The more chaos, the shorter the 'planning ahead' time frame.
Too much chaos brings in too many variables for long term, strategies. (imo)

0
0
0.000
avatar

I did read your post, yes... which I thought made some really good points, in terms of life on a "macro" scale. It also got me to thinking about the question I was trying to raise here; how people tend to reach for "quick fixes" and "magic pills" that allegedly offer "instant answers" to systemic problems that have taken years — if not generations — to create.

Sure, a doctor can give me a pill for my frequent headaches, and I might forget about the headache till I get the next one. OR we can figure out why I get headaches in the first place and go through the more laborious and time consuming process of removing the problem that causes the headaches.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Fast, quick solutions are symptoms of a modern ill. It is discouraging, in that climate, to feel as if you're losing, especially when everything is geared towards that illusion of success.

Appreciating how long it's taking to build the community connections I'm building - because I know that makes for a more stable soil for growth. A slow cooked meal is more flavoursome. But boy we have to fight for slow, it seems, every day.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Some places specialize in slow, like Asia, India, Africa and South America. Even some parts of rural Spain, Greece & Crete. And provincial France. It's such a healing vibe to take one's time!! Maybe time to reconsider where you choose to live??

Cos @denmarkguy's right - the addiction to fast, and the addiction to the idea that everything needs fixing and improving, is deadly.

!ENGAGE 25

0
0
0.000
avatar

I lived in southern Spain as a teenager @artemislives, and slow was definitely part of the picture. It frustrated the heck out of my parents... and one of my retrospective take-aways is that highly "westernized" cultures have come to equate slow with lazy. Which is far from true... everything got done... EVENTUALLY.

0
0
0.000
avatar

haha - I'm laughing cos Thai time is VERY slow. After 17 years here, I'm amused by how relentlessly western people pursue slow. Hence my comment here. :) "We have to fight for slow" is insane and impossible, and the energetic antithesis of slow.

!ENGAGE 15 Good night. The late evening monsoon rain tumbles down at 11.30pm and the only thing that is not slow tonight is the incredible lightning and thunder. Great sleeping weather.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you for your engagement on this post, you have recieved ENGAGE tokens.

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

It is. I think just emphasising the slow WHERE I live is better though - maybe it'll rub off on others...

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you for your engagement on this post, you have recieved ENGAGE tokens.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Ah yes, the "ILLUSION" of success...

I fear a lot of people have been spoon fed what success is supposed to look like, and they just take that in as truth, rather than sitting back and defining their own versions what sucess... for them.

Community building is a never-ending process, it seems... you have to be patient and just keep plugging away at it. And it can be hard, because "slow" is not a valued attribute in our world.

The other day, I was looking at a gardening/seed/plants web site because we are interested in putting in some gooseberry bushes. When I read the reviews of different strains, the most common complaint and reason for a poor rating was related to how long it takes the bushes to mature (10-12 YEARS) and nobody wanted to wait for that.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Oh, but you know the old proverb right - about the best time to plant a tree being yesterday? Bill Mollison, the permaculture guru, said 'if you don't plant a walnut tree, in twenty years time you won't have walnuts'. Time passes quickly.

0
0
0.000