Pursuits and Pleasures – The Casino of Life

What are you knowingly doing that is risking your health?

We are all doing something. Whether crossing the street or taking drugs, there are risks to everything in life.

Are we playing the right games?

For instance, downhill skiing can be considered reasonably risky to your health, but if one prepares and accepts the risks, one can find great joy and pleasure from hitting the slopes.

The same holds true for smoking cigarettes. The nicotine high attained from smoking can be a wonderful and pleasurable feeling for many, but it has risks.

Thinking about what risks we are willing to take or not take is a great practice to help us define the boundaries and guidelines we want for our lives.

We come to the game of life like visiting a casino, betting on pleasures versus risks hoping to win in a place where only the house wins.

From here onward, take time to think about the risk versus rewards in everything. Reassess everything. Reinvent yourself.

It’s interesting how many of us would risk death by eating or drinking something that we knew was bad for us but wouldn’t risk an outdoor activity like rock climbing for fear of injury.

Both things can kill us, so what’s the difference? Time.

It comes down to immediacy. If the perception is that it could kill us in the not-too-distant future, then it’s not acceptable, but if it could cause death over time, then it’s somehow acceptable.

We have evolved to be aware of immediate and present dangers. We are wired to be this way, unlike the long-term view of life.

Consider the COVID pandemic – look at the measures we took to protect our health immediately. Yet, many more people die from diabetes and heart disease based on an unhealthy diet of processed foods, yet we do nothing.

These two perspectives don’t line up, so we need to challenge ourselves. Whether something could kill us right away versus down the road, the outcomes are the same either way.

We are willing to spin the wheel of health and death as long as any negative consequences are perceived not to be immediate.

Our short-term view of our health can be tragic. The house always wins, and we can end up risking too much betting and playing the wrong games.

Sure, the person who strives to be healthy all the time can die right before our eyes by getting hit by a tree branch, COVID, or anything, but the odds are that they won’t.

So what are you willing to risk, and for what pleasures?

Are we willing to hop on a plane and fly on a vacation to a distant land? Or what about some delicious carcinogen, like bacon?

What’s the difference between the two? Only you can answer this question. It’s up to you if there’s a difference or not. It’s your game, and you are at the casino of your life. What do you want, and what are you willing to risk?

And don’t be lulled into a state of feeling like a victim where you feel like there’s nothing you can do.

The Power

The power is knowing that you are trying your best for yourself. Feeling like you are doing your best to live the healthiest and most extended life is powerful. Whether it works or not, the power is knowing that you are trying and feeling in control. Check out this article on Healthspan: https://silvermagazine.ca/want-to-live-to-100-and-enjoy-the-ride-healthspan-is-the-way/

By taking a realistic 360-degree view of our risks versus pleasures in the immediate and long-term future, we can take control and consciously plan our own path.

You are in control. Let’s enjoy the game and stay in it as long as possible!