Consider which of your lifestyle choices are common but not normal
When I was a kid, I drank pop everyday.
If you wanted something to drink, it was water, milk, or pop. I usually chose pop.
I loved vanilla coke and mountain dew, but I couldn’t have too much mountain dew; it had too much caffeine.
Everyone had a shelf in their refrigerator just for pop.
I’d go to a friends house, and their parents would offer a pop.
In High school I decided I liked pepsi more, because it was the underdog.
At lunch I’d always get a 20oz bottle from the vending machine.
My friend joined the track team. The coaches said, “if you’re on this team you aren’t allowed to drink pop”.
I thought this was the most ridiculous idea in the world!
Who can give up pop!?
Drinking pop everyday was normal.
Of course now we know pop is diabetes-causing garbage and giving it to your kid makes you literally the devil.
I was watching a podcast on back pain with Theresa Larson. This is the kind of thing I do for fun.
“8 in 10 adults, whether you’re a fitness person or sedentary will have [back pain]”
“Is that normal?”
“No, of course it’s not.”
“It’s 8 out of 10 people I feel like that’s pretty normal.”
“Its common but not normal. Pain is not normal.”
There’s a distinction between ‘common’ and ’normal’. It was common to drink pop everyday, but it wasn’t normal (still isn’t). Ingesting 40g of sugar in two minutes is not a normal thing for a human to do.
What do you think is normal?
Is it normal, or just common?
Food
- Get the low-fat wheat thins to lose weight.
- Vegetables are gross.
- Buy a heavy lunch from a restaurant everyday. Wonder why you can’t get work done in the afternoon.
Drink
- Drink pop everyday. Water is gross.
- Binge drink with your friends and co-workers until you feel sick. Live your life!
Finance
- Run up a balance on your credit card, build credit and earn points!
- Buy the biggest house you can mortgage, you might need the space later.
- Shop the sales to save money.
Career
- Find your passion to build a career you’ll love.
- Work 60 hour weeks and get paid for 40, everyone else does it and you can’t be left behind!
Time
- Be busy all the time. Can’t waste a spare moment.
Exercise
- That’d be nice, but I just don’t have time.
Education
- Graduate college and stop learning. Never read a book again. Who has time for that?
Focus
- Check your phone every time there’s a lull in the conversation. Make sure you didn’t miss anything important.
Sleep
- Be tired all day, have trouble falling asleep because your mind is racing.
What else in your life is common, but not normal? Let me know.