Money, Health and Ideas

So, you probably knew that it was aise to be careful about the ideas that you allow into your head. Have you been good about acting on that insight? Never mind. What I really want to do here is cover some concrete reasons why you should be more attuned to the social pollution in your life.

Here are five specific reasons, with some probing questions:

Wasted money - Ever bought a lottery ticket?
Wasted time - Do you go out of your way to find natural products?
Health problems - Do you smoke? Diet?
Lost opportunities - Do you wish you could work more?
Relationship problems - Do you laugh at male-bashing humor?

Each of those questions is based on the social pollution that spawns the thinking behind common answers. What do I mean? Consider these thoughts:

Buying lottery tickets - relationship betweeen wealth and money does not hold up well at high income levels
Natural products - natural/synthetic is a false dichotomy; natural products can be useless(EX: echinacea) or dangerous (St. John's Wort) or silly (free-range pork)
Smoking - Smoking is in some way related to coolness, or to rejection of the mainstream culture that thinks smoking is a nasty habit
Working more - Again, there are many documented problems associated with workaholism; the relationship between happiness and increased income is weak beyond a certain modest level
Relationships - The attitude/belief that, maybe, one gender is inherently better in some way undermines human values; so, male-bashing jokes, cards, and refrigerator magnets are signs of social pollution

Next time: The same stuff with society as the focus, not you and me.