Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 273 – Swine Flu

Mahler · 09-21-2009, 08:40 AM

Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 273 – Swine Flu

Swine Flu (09-21-09)

Every year around this time, we hear about the upcoming cold and flu season. Usually it’s by way of commercials pedaling products to reduce the symptoms of those bad boys. This year, it’s just a bit different. Our awareness of the flu season is happening by way of the major news outlets. A particular strain of flu, identified as H1N1, more commonly known as swine flu, is headlining many news reports and the strange word “pandemic” is becoming a part of our everyday vocabulary.

Now, I work in the field of property management and a specific part of my job is to make sure that the properties I manage can conduct business as usual, as far as possible, whenever there is the threat of disaster. It’s called business continuity planning and includes preparation for major weather events, such as hurricanes and winter storms, power outages, and, yes, even outbreaks of influenza.

In doing my planning in this particular instance, it seems that the focus is on cleanliness. After all it is next to godliness we are told. It seems that the best way to prepare not to get the virus is to prevent its transmission from one person to the other. This means frequent washing of hands, covering coughs and sneezes, keeping hands away from eyes, nose and mouth, and wiping down commonly touched surfaces frequently. Putting its name aside, you are unlikely to get the swine flu from its animal progenitor. Instead, it seems, you are more likely to contract the virus if you or someone else behaves like a pig and fails to keep things clean.

While completing my preparations for this particular issue, it occurs to me that we always seem to focus our attention on disaster. We make plans to deal with those things that are of great magnitude or have dire consequences or that are imminent. What about those things in our lives that can be personal disasters if we don’t prepare for them? What about those things that don’t seem to be of great concern or have major consequences merely because they are so far out in front of us and seem only a distant threat?

What kind of continuity planning are we doing for our bodies and our lives? What preparations are we making now, for the years to come that will even more surely descend upon us? Unlike the flu, you don’t contract old age like a virus. Unlike the flu, you don’t catch weakness of body or lack of mobility from someone else. Unlike the flu, you don’t get overweight by coming into contact with fat people. All of these are real and impending personal disasters that you can be prepared to deal with if you plan now.

Think of your workouts or that cardio that you do, the nutritional guidelines that you follow or the food you eat as your personal business continuity planning. Think of them as your plan for a future that will keep you alert, fit and mobile beyond the years of many. And, like savings, it’s never too early to plan and certainly never too late as my own personal life demonstrates.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if the population of this planet planned as diligently for life as we do for those disasters that threaten life? What a marvelous world this would be if fitness became the real and ongoing pandemic.
Unfortunately, there are so many that won’t be infected and even more that would only eat right or exercise if swine flew.

___________________
Copyright 2004-2009 John R. Gesselberty. Mahler's Monday Morning Motivators (MMMM) may not be copied or used without permission of the author. All rights reserved.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Have a Great Week!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *