We talked about taking a systems approach to disease vs. just a symptoms approach. We referenced Dr. Junger’s metaphor of a wise gardener tending to the roots.

Which reminds me of T. Harv Eker’s line: “In every forest, on every farm, in every orchard on earth, it’s what’s under the ground that creates what’s above the ground. That’s why placing your attention on the fruits that you have already grown is futile. You cannot change the fruits that are already hanging on the tree. You can, however, change tomorrow’s fruits. But to do so, you will have to dig below the ground and strengthen the roots.”

Here’s another metaphor and pop quiz to bring the point home.
If you had a boiling pot of water and you wanted to easily and permanently make the water stop boiling, would you:
a) Drop in two ice cubes at regular intervals; or,
b) Turn the flame off/move the pot off the heat?

Option b) for the win!

Seems so simple… Yet, somehow, in a world where over fifteen million people have purchased Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, we’ve failed to implement Habit #1 to “Be Proactive.”

Instead, we throw our hands up in the air at all the symptoms we experience (from acid reflux and headaches to depression and cancer) and, rather than go after the causes of these ailments, we reach for another couple ice cubes to temporarily reduce the heat while doing *nothing* to deal with the flame at the root of the underlying problem.

Option a) for the loss! 😕

Of course, we all do it at times. Enter: Common Humanity.

And, enter: What “ice cubes” are you relying on? And, what little (or big) thing can you do TODAY to deal with the root cause of the issue more proactively?

Ice cubes begone! (Except for iced tea. That’s awesome.