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by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.
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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Fond Memories of a Run for Mayor of Tampa

Tuesday February 2, 2010

Running for mayor seven years ago was a wonderful experience. Here is one of the last of nearly a hundred short talks I gave before a wide variety of organizations during the six months of that quixotic campaign. This was given a few days before election day to the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

There are many reasons I'm glad I ran for mayor of this city. One is the opportunity to appear before distinguished groups such as this. Now, with just a few days remaining before the fateful vote and the polls giving me little encouragement, I suspect it might be a little late to turn things around. Still, some things should be said no matter what, and better late than not at all.

Before I begin, however, I want to invite a little love—I'd like to encourage you to give a little credit where it's clearly due. So I ask, "Is it not true that I have the coolest campaign theme of all the candidates?" Really—think about it and confess: Did anyone else have a more appropriate, original and memorable campaign theme than my call for "a well city that's fit, fun, free and functional?" Of course not. And who had a better description of his candidacy than my assertion of being "the oldest, fittest, fastest and prettiest of all the candidates?" Well, then, there you are—thanks for the much deserved recognition. Now go out there on Tuesday and shock everyone—cast your vote for Don for mayor!

My topic today is "a timeless message." It's about the importance of choices we all make each and every day that affect our well being, more than doctors and drugs combined, to enable us to be healthy and robust. The wellness initiatives I would advance as your mayor are all supported by a timeless idea—one worth considering and adopting at any time during life. It is this: What you do for your own health makes all the difference—for better health or for health status that is not so healthy. Today, instead of describing a well city, as I have in presentations throughout our community for the past six months, I will sketch what it means to be a well person. To do so, I'll review what wellness is about but will emphasize why it matters to you and the city while noting how you can integrate wellness in your life.

Do you think of yourself as a well person? May I see a show of hands? Who in this room considers him or herself well?

Many of you did but many did not raise their hands. Maybe I should be more specific. From a wellness perspective, you deserve to raise your hand if:

You have a great body and you're proud of your fitness level.
Your diet is carefully chosen—and high in fruits and vegetables, low in fats and simple sugars.
Stress is not much of an issue—hardly anything upsets your serenity.
You have a wonderful sense of humor and your days are filled with fun and play.
You love your work and would probably do it even if you were not paid for doing so!
You are clear and happy about your life's meaning and purpose—like Calvin of "Calvin and Hobbes" fame, "you know why you were put here and why everything exists." (And, unlike Calvin, you don't believe "it's so everyone can do what I want!")

Again let me ask, how many here consider themselves "really well?" May I see a show of hands? (Much laughter, very few hands in the air.)

It's not unusual to see fewer hands AFTER I outline the specifics for "well personhood." Being well at a modestly challenging level is a challenge many people can't seem to manage. It's takes too much time, most believe.

What about normal? How many here are normal?

What IS normal, and why would you want to be normal? Isn't normal a form of mediocrity? Is it really necessary to blend in with everyone else, not to stand out in any fashion? Especially in a society such as ours, where two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese?

One last question: How many middle-age folks do we have among us today? Could I see a show of hands?

What IS middle age? The consensus among experts is this: There is no such thing. Nobody can say when middle age begins, ends or how it would be defined and measured. It's all in your head. It depends—on many factors.

Middle age is, in fact, whatever you want it to be or, more likely, whatever you allow it to be. If you think you are too old to be exceptionally well, or put another way, to be remarkably fit, fun, free and functional, then you will NOT be very fit, fun, free or able to live in a high functional capacity. Expectations reinforce attitudes, behaviors, standards and outcomes. Don't settle for normalcy. Set a higher standard—choose wellness.

Why doesn't everyone choose wellness lifestyles? Why do so many settle for mediocrity?

Folks, there are hundreds of reasons to choose wellness, but they all come down to two: One that is negative and one is positive. The latter should be enough, but I'll offer the negative anyway. I hope it won't frighten you.

The negative is unnecessary, avoidable illness is very expensive, as well as dangerous. The costs, therefore, of NOT pursuing immoderate, unnormal lifestyles of a wellness nature are extraordinary, and possibly unsustainable. That's one reason—the negative one.

The second and better reason concerns exceptional benefits and payoffs of a wellness nature. I'll summarize each in turn, and then offer a few simple suggestions in hopes of sparking your interest in pursuing wellness—for either of these two basic reasons. Hopefully, the latter (positive) factors will be more appealing.

First, just a few additional comments on the negative rationale for choosing wellness. A wellness lifestyle will improve your chances of avoiding excess weight (like 64 percent of adult Americans) and a long list of possible illnesses and diseases. It will save you money, in that all encounters with the $2.8 trillion dollar sickness system are expensive, even WITH a generous health insurance policy, which 41 million citizens don't enjoy. You will probably live longer and, more important, you will have more mobility, better health and added fun in your final ten or so years. (At present, life expectancy has reached 78.2 years, up from 77 in 2000, and has increased for both men and women as well as for whites and blacks. For men, life expectancy increased from 74.3 years in 2000 to 74.4 years in 2001; for women, life expectancy increased from 79.7 years to 79.8 years.)

The positive rationale for choosing wellness is that you will look and feel better, have more energy and experience a better sex life. Isn't that enough? If not, let me add that you will be fitter, less stressed, more admired, a better decision maker, able to play more and have more fun and more likely to discover added meaning and purpose. At least, it seems that way to me.

A few simple suggestions follow. I hope some of these will be helpful.

Find a way to get paid for doing whatever it is you enjoy.
Do what you must to experience a lot of DBRUs every day. DRBU is an idea I got from a Gary Larson "Far Side" cartoon. You had to be there.
Adopt a perspective that embraces responsibility for whatever goes well or poorly in your day and enables you to get on with making the best of things given conditions that exist, in lieu of tendencies to blame, excuse, whine, whimper or shift accountability to someone or something else.
Do not rely on the health care system for YOUR health. This so-called system is not about health—it's a huge disease and illness-based business irrelevant to excellent health and a disciplined wellness lifestyle. No matter how expensive or how wondrous doctors, drugs and the medical system can be when used appropriately, what you do or do not do (in concert with human biology/culture/and your environment) will be the critical variable in affecting the quality of your appearance, vitality and overall health.
Go out of your way daily to experience humor, lightness, fun, joy—good times by whatever name you prefer. Laughter and assorted pleasures strengthen your immune system, metabolize bad vibes and act in 1001 ways to make life richer and fuller. Unlike frustrations, setbacks, tragedy and disaster, however, initiative is needed to bring these sensations up beyond the minimal level of occurrences.
Develop a deep and abiding sense of tolerance for diversity of all kinds, especially differences in styles, appearances, religions, politics, values and opinions at variance with your own. This is one of the most effective ways to eliminate negative stressors that come from unnecessary and futile judgments as well as temptations to try to change people to think or be more like you.
Find as many people to love as possible. Some of them will probably love you back, or at least be nice to you.
Do some original thinking about why you are here and what it's all about. Too many accept what they were programmed to think. As a free adult, it's your right to decide for yourself.
Be of service to others—it's good for your health and sense of purpose. Frankl, Maslow, Yalom and dozens of other psychiatrists, existentialists and assorted scholars have urged engagement for mental health.
Find lots of heroes to emulate, in some ways. It's not a good idea to adopt a single hero, for everyone has strengths and weaknesses and only the former are worth copying. Think of traits you admire and the people who manage those qualities with dignity, panache and flair—or whatever appeals to you. When you want to function at what you consider your best in these areas, think of your hero for that aspect of living. How would he/she deal with this? Then do your version, with the role model (hero) in mind.

(By the way, my hero is Calvin of "Calvin and Hobbes" fame. I just ask myself, "What would Calvin do and everything becomes clear. For those not familiar with Bill Watterson's late, lamented cartoon strip or Calvin's style, well, consider this: In vouching for his character in a recent letter to Santa Claus, Hobbes wrote, "...the kid tries to be sort of good if he's not tempted otherwise."

Be well. Always look on the bright side of life.

Note: This essay first appeared as an essay at this site on March 2, 2003, with only a few days remaining before the Tampa Mayoral election. It wasl entitled, "Delivering A Timeless Message" to the Business Community."

Domain: physical
Subdomain: lifestyle habits

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