Resistance to change

I have heard a hundred times how hard it is for people to change. The reasoning usually runs along the lines of how we get set in our ways and there are a lot of risks and unknowns that come with change so its easier to stay the same.

I'd like to look at our resistance to change from a different angle. I think we make it very difficult for each other to change. Let me give you an example. Let's say Ace is adamant that no beverage will every be as tasty and satisfying as yum yum orange. Gary is Ace's friend and coworker and while he is not as fanatical about a beverage as Ace he is quite certain that sippy sippy grapey grapey is much better than yum yum orange. The two have lunch everyday and Gary insists that Ace it being stupid and stubborn because he won't even try sippy sippy grapey grapey. He assures Ace that he'll love it but Ace always refuses because he knows his yum yum orange is the best. This argument goes on day after day for 10 years. Then one day while at a Get the foods quickly store Ace decides to try a sippy sippy grapey grapey. He is stunned by how good it is. Now Ace is in a jam.

If you're ace to do go tell Gary and the rest of your family and friends that you like sippy sippy grapey grapey and that yum yum orange is not the best and you'd like to branch out in the world of beverages? Or do you keep it a secret, continue to drink yum yum orange when around others and privately enjoy some occassional sippy sippy grapey grapey?

My point is this. The pressures we put on each other and the ever lurking, pride flaring, phrases like "I told you so" that we are so quick to throw out play a big role in our resistance to change. We are afraid of dealing with the reactions to, or the things that will likely come with the change we are going to make.

Can you relate to this? What would you really do if you were Ace (besides change your name)?

Universal Healthcare

I don't know all the details but my basic understanding is that the government wants every person in our country to have healthcare coverage. Rather than try to fix the current system they are trying to setup a system where all healthcare is run through the government. So basically a MediCare program that encompasses everyone. Like I said I don't know a lot of the details yet but here's a few thoughts on the subject:

Healthcare is a business, and the government really hasn't shown they know how to run any kind of business let alone something as massive and complicated as healthcare for everyone in America.

The people who currently don't have healthcare probably don't have it because they can't pay for it. Since the goal is to provide healthcare for everyone who will pay for it?

It seems like employers would no longer have an option to offer health plans to their employees and often times these type of plans are better than the cheapy options.

What would the impact be on pharmaceutical companies? If the government controls all health insurance then the pharma companies would be forced to offer their drugs at whatever the government offers to pay. Some may say that big pharma charges too much as it is and that may be true, but big pharma is also the ones coming up with our cures and treatments, what happens if they aren't pulling in enough to continue current levels of research and development?

Chime in on what you think about universal healthcare. If you know more about it than me you're welcome to give me more info.

14,000 things to be happy about

I saw in an article the other day that there is a book called 14,000 things to be happy about. So I searched Amazon and sure enough there it was. The author is Barbara Ann Kipfer. She is also the author of The 1325 Buddhist ways to be happy, 1,400 things for kids to be happy about, and 4,000 questions for getting to know anyone.

Here's my thoughts. Thinking of things to be happy about, great. Making a list and spending some time focusing on them, great. Sharing those things with your friends and family and finding out what makes them happy, great. Writing them in a book and charging people money to read them, lame.

I applaud Ms. Kipfer because she has found a way to make money for herself and she probably feels like her books are uplifting and help people out. However, if I ran a book store I would never carry this book or any of the other three titles I mentioned. I bet any of you reading this blog could write any of these books and have them finished in a week or two. If I was an author I would probably be very frustrated that books like this would make it on the shelf next to mine.

What do you think? Would you be interested in reading these books or do you think you could write them yourself? Am I being to hard on her? Any other ridiculous books out there that you've seen?