In a world where we're told to be more tolerant, accepting and understanding, there are instances where intolerance is still a good thing. My thoughts today might be controversial, but I believe it's important to point out opportunities where we can improve our lives, and the lives of those around us by being intolerant of the right things.
1. Leveraging Your Lifestyle with Credit
Shortly after my husband and I tied the knot, we gave birth to two beautiful girls. Trying to be the "perfect parents" we saw on TV and in our community, we started whipping out the credit cards left and right. It was for the kids, right?
Well, turns out that all the advertising we see every second of the day is capable of wrecking a family's credit limit. According to the Daily Mail, "The average [television] viewer saw 47 adverts a day during the first six months of 2011, compared with 45 ads a day during the same period last year."
The more advertising we see, and the more we're able to justify extra spending, the easier it is to give in and pay with plastic instead of cash. Too many Americans are seeing too many days left at the end of their paycheck. Access to easy credit is threatening the American family and I'm not willing to tolerate it anymore.
If I don't have cash to pay for something, I can't afford it. I've become intolerant of debt and hope to teach my children that payments should virtually never replace paying cash. The stress that comes with making monthly payments just isn't worth it.
2. Fast Food
Making dinner for the family, after a long workday, is a hassle. It's just one more thing on a never-ending to-do list. This is why fast food has become part of virtually everyone's daily life. According to University Hospitals, "...the rate of fast food consumption hasn't slowed in over 15 years!"
I am intolerant of people putting foods into their children's diets that have been proven to increase the risk of cancer and obesity. There should not be obese children in the richest country in the world. We should be able to come together and learn from the vast amount of nutritional information freely available to us.
My daughters will be raised with the expectation that cash is king and nutritional competency is an incredibly important life skill.
3. Sitting at Home and at Work for Long Periods of Time
Recent reports have come out with headlines like "Is Sitting the New Smoking?" and "What are the risks of sitting too much?" My children are major couch potatoes when left to their own devices. Between their smartphones, the television and laptops, there's a lot of electronic stimulation to keep us all inactive and stationary.
It's even more dangerous in the office. We sit for the better part of eight hours a day over the course of a workday. Then, many of us head home in a car, sitting as we fight traffic. Then, after we walk through the front door, we plunk down on a couch and watch TV.
I am absolutely intolerant of people that make the deadly choice of refusing to get some exercise on a daily basis. We have to fight to keep these amazing biological machines in peak performing condition.
4. Lighting Up
In the United Kingdom, more than £979 million is lost annually due to smoking-related sick days, according to an infographic from Vape Club. "...Cutting smoking breaks would save UK businesses £5 billion a year...." Add this to the cost of obesity related illnesses in our community, and it's easy to understand that we can no longer tolerate those that choose to poison themselves.
Image Source: Vapeclub
Lighting up covers more than tobacco cigarettes. There are multiple marijuana hybrids that have become popular in recent years, including Indica and Sativa.
Indica is dark green with broader leaves, and Sativa is light green with skinnier leaves
In terms of effect,
Indica mainly affects the body...[while] Sativa mainly affects the mind.
Says Loraine Couturier, Wisetoast. Drugs can do great things medicinally, but used outside of a medical context, they are dangerous and harmful to society.
I worry about my daughters growing up in a culture that sensationalizes drug use on television and in music. When they were born I witnessed something that shakes any parent to their core: it was the birth of someone without any baggage, full of promise and opportunity.
The world is laid out before them if they are willing to find who they are and live a clean, productive life. Whether it's drugs, a sedentary lifestyle, toxic chemicals in their food, or financial debt, there are many things we need to be intolerant of in our lives. If not for ourselves, we need to set a better example for our children.
We can gift the next generation a better life than we've had, with lower instances of cancer and obesity. Behavioral patterns start at the home. Join me as I endeavor to teach my children the value of living a better, more fulfilling life. It takes just 21 days to establish a habit.
You can do this! Find the things you shouldn't tolerate in your life. One decision at a time can change your life. Are you ready?