by Matt Weik
This article isn’t going to be for everyone—and that’s ok. In fact, it could offend some people—again, that’s ok. I’m not here to paint pictures of rainbows and talk about unicorns while we all sit around the campfire roasting marshmallows. But, we have a real problem in our society today that I think needs to be discussed. And that topic is how American society today has turned into a bunch of entitled babies. Is it an evolutionary problem? Is it a technology problem? Is it a parenting problem? All of the above?
Put in the work
There are a ton of individuals out there who simply don’t want to put in the work when it has to do with pretty much everything. People want a magic fitness pill so they never need to lift a weight or do cardio—or better yet some magic sorcery that they can eat at McDonald’s every day for every meal and not get fat. At their job, they want to put in the minimum amount of work necessary because they feel they “don’t get paid enough to go above and beyond.” It’s ridiculous.
People seem to feel as if they are entitled to “better things” simply just because. I’m not sure where this mentality came from? Maybe their parents babied them their entire life and they are used to being spoon-fed everything in life? Life is hard. If you aren’t willing to put in the work, you’ll never make it. You’ll be the lowest paid person at your company, you’ll never get promoted or get a raise, you’ll be unhappy with your physique because you’re lazy, it goes on and on. I honestly feel bad for these people because they will never see their true potential because they aren’t willing to grind and hustle to get what they want. They don’t want to learn new skills that can be applied at work to make their job easier, or take on new responsibilities to show their boss all they can do. They just expect things to be given to them.
When we exercise, WE are the ones putting in the work. How many people do you know who have a gym membership, tells everyone they have a gym membership as if it’s some sort of trophy, but never actually goes to the gym to exercise? I actually know quite a few. In their heads, they feel like they’ve accomplished something by purchasing a gym membership. Almost as if thinking that by paying monthly dues, that their money will magically have their lazy ass get in shape. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. If you want to simply throw money away, you can contact me and I’ll send you my address and you can just send me a monthly check.
Someone will save me or I’ll just take a pill to fix it
When we get sick, what do we do? Head to the doctor’s, right? They write a script, send it to your local pharmacy, you head over, pick it up, and start taking it. A few days later, you’re back to normal (whatever normal is for you). We don’t like thinking about preventative care. Why? Because it means we have to put in an effort. Everyone only worries about illness after it’s already too late. The things we do in our day to day lives can help keep us free from illnesses (most of them), but it’s all preventative. Eat healthy, wash your hands, exercise, get enough sleep, proper hygiene, etc. But, people think they know it all and when they don’t. They go get pill that will cure their ailment and then the poor behavior and life choices repeat. Then the cycle repeats itself of having to go to the doctor and get medicine. We don’t want to take responsibility for our health these days because it takes a conscious EFFORT to do so. And Americans are, well, lazy.
A little off topic from fitness is another point of safety. No one wants to take the necessary steps to protect themselves these days. Their excuse is either it won’t happen to me, or I’ll just call 911 and have the police save me. Little do they know is that you can die in less than a minute from blood loss. You won’t even have time to call 911 and tell the operator on the other end of the line your name. So, please tell me how someone is going to save you should you ever get attacked. There is no Superman, Spiderman, or Batman in real life to save you. For that reason, I suggest everyone get some type of self-defense training. If you are willing and able in your state to carry a knife or firearm, you should do so—everyday, and train with them. Don’t simply go out, purchase a firearm and start carrying it without the proper training and knowledge of how to use it. Be preventative.
I know there will be people who will ask if someone carrying a firearm or knife is always afraid that something bad will happen to them and are constantly living in fear. My question back to them is, do you have a fire extinguisher in your home? Are you planning on having a fire? Do you have life insurance? Do you plan on dying anytime soon? Do you have car insurance? Do you plan on getting into an accident? All of these things are preventative measures put in place so you are prepared in the event something happens. No different than investing in your own protection. No one is worried about your life more than you.
Your father would be ashamed of you
In my opinion, every generation needs to be better than the previous. With technology today, no one is learning new skills or expanding their knowledge. Book stores are closing because no one reads anymore. Everything is digital. Which I completely understand, digital is new-age and easier to access. But digital is also things like worthless shows like the Kardashian’s and junk like that. We are consumed by television, Netflix, the internet, etc. No one is expanding their knowledge and actually utilizing all parts of their brain. As a society, we are literally getting dumber. We live our lives thanks to technology. We take so much for granted these days. Everyone has their nose stuck in their smartphones and devices. We walk around like robots. When’s the last time you used a map. I’m not talking about Google Maps. I’m talking about paper maps where you need to find your current location without the help of Siri and then route your way to your final destination? A better question is (depending on your age), if you’ve ever used a map in your entire life? If your phone dies and you can’t charge it, how will you get to your destination if you’ve never looked at a map before? Do you even own a map? When you’re out driving, do you know how to change a tire if you get a flat, or do you rely on AAA to come take care of it?
As a father, myself, I want my son to be better than me. Not because I’m lazy or dumb, but because we need to evolve. As a society, if we continue to think that we can pay to have everything we need done for us, how are we moving forward? Think about the use of cellphones and smartphones today. I’m old enough to remember when cellphones first came out. When they were released, you knew everyone’s phone number already by heart because you used the landline in your home. Today, think about ten people you talk to on a weekly basis, what are their phone numbers? Probably can’t remember, right? It’s because technology.
Technology is making things easier and more efficient, but at the cost of our intelligence. Look at math today, people can’t do simple math anymore because they’ve been using calculators for years. Or the internet. I remember when dial-up AOL was the best thing since sliced bread. No one cared that it took forever for the internet to load up. Nowadays, if a website doesn’t load within a second people are already looking for another website to answer their question. Technology is a double-edged sword.
Bullying
If you’re my age or older (I’m 35), we didn’t have things such as “cyber-bullying” when we were kids. Now, you have people all over the world messaging and texting each other mean and nasty things. Back in the day, bullies at school would get their teeth kicked in when they stepped to the wrong person. I’m not promoting violence, but people have turned into pansies these days. No one says anything to anyone’s face anymore and no one stands up for themselves. Bullies protect themselves from eating food from a straw for the rest of their life by hiding behind a computer screen or smartphone. 99% of the people out there who are cyber-bullying would never say half of what they say via technology to someone’s face—they know what would happen. So, they grow cyber-muscles and act all tough.
Why do we care so much what people think? Let’s put things into perspective here. Generally, who is bullying you? Someone you don’t know, right? Not your family, not your close friends. Then why even care what they think or say? They mean nothing to you. If you want to really make them angry, don’t even pay attention to what they are saying or doing and it will frustrate them that you aren’t phased by it and they’ll stop bullying you. Problem solved. But, everyone is taking things to heart these days. “This person who I don’t even know is calling me names and hurting my feelings.” Really? That’s the worst possible thing that could happen to you today? How about not having any food on your plate? How about not having clean clothes to put on every morning? How about living in an abusive home? How about not even having a home to live in and going through the foster care system? You being bullied should be the last thing you’re worrying about.
Delicate snowflakes
Safe spaces, gun free zones, free counseling after Trump was elected, are you serious? Everyone is so offended these days. God forbid someone be called “overweight” today. You’ll have the cops called on you for harassment. Call a spade a spade. That’s the problem doctors face today. They are walking that fine line of if they need to tell a patient that if they want to live to see their next birthday that they need to start exercising and eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, because of their weight. Their patient could be completely offended, seek legal action against the doctor, and potentially have him or her lose their license to practice. I almost can’t blame doctors for simply writing prescriptions left and right these days. It’s easier than telling someone who’s overweight that they have high blood pressure due to their current health and bodyweight. Rather than offend them, here’s a pill to take every day and let them be on their way without incident. It’s honestly a shame that people bypass the root cause of things because they don’t want to offend anyone or hurt their feelings.
There’s a clear line of separation (or should be) between people making fun of others for their weight, and people who are trying to help. Is there really a polite way to tell people who are considered “overweight” that they should really seek help to prolong their life and help them with their everyday activities without making them upset? Yet, when you try to help them and give them advice (maybe you’re a trainer or dietician), you’re the bad guy and a jerk.
There’s no way out it seems. We’ve dug ourselves into a hole that we can’t get out of. I’m not sure we can ever revert back to the way things were. We are in a freefall and a downward spiral. If anyone can honestly look at society today and say we are moving forward in the right direction from years or decades prior, you’re only fooling yourself. Each and every person needs to start taking accountability for their actions and making an effort to better themselves. If not, robots will take our jobs, and our spouse. And we will live in an age where no one leaves their homes or does anything to better themselves because it’s all taken care of and handed to them on a silver platter.
