Wake Up Call

Granted, the doctor was in a pretty foul mood. He'd had a bad day. It was late, and he was tired. His words were well meant - just a little harsher than usual.

The recipient of his stinging rebuke was a 52 year old patient who, thanks to the quick actions of the Emergency Room Staff and the skill of this Cardiologist, had just survived his first heart attack. He was literally handed a second chance at life. I don't remember the exact words, but the conversation went something like this:

Doctor: "This was your wake up call. Like it or not, your life style has just changed! You no longer smoke cigarettes. You no longer drink 6 beers every time you go golfing. You have to start eating right and getting some regular exercise.

(It was at this point in the conversation that the patient mumbled something about maybe trying to cut down a little - the volume of the conversation then went up considerably)

Doctor: "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT JUST HAPPENED? IF YOU KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING YOU ARE GOING TO DIE - MAYBE NOT TODAY - BUT SOON!

It was obviously not what the patient wanted to hear. He would rather have been told that he would have to live without his left arm than to be told he had to break his habits and change his lifestyle. So, I'm pretty sure that we at Maury Regional Hospital will be seeing this patient again real soon.

What is it in our brains that makes us our own worst enemies? Why is it, that even when we know better, our bad habits become so powerful and wield such debilitating control over our lives?

Remember the old late night infomercial guy - Tony Robbins.? I have been reading some of his stuff lately.

Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives.