Superficiality vs. Substance

Superficiality vs. Substance

By: Dr. Roger Landry, MD, MPH

 In the fall, the leaves of many trees will turn beautiful shades of red and yellow. However, the real substance of the tree is the trunk and roots. They remain while the leaves come and go.

When we are younger, we frequently attempt to adopt a healthier lifestyle for non-health reasons. Vanity is perhaps the major driver of physical activity in the young. Being more attractive, looking better at a wedding or on the beach, is a strong motivator. Competitive advantage sports and bragging rights of accomplishments are also very strong among younger adults.

The problem with more simplistic motivators is that once we move beyond them in our lives, when attractiveness or bragging rights are less powerful as reasons to undertake change, sometimes we are then less likely to attempt to change at all. We consider that growth and positive changes are things of the past and become accepting of the way things are. When, in reality, now is the time to adopt a healthier lifestyle – not for how it will make us look, but how it will make us feel.

How we look and dress are superficialities. Our real substance lies in who we are. What are our trunks? What are our roots? We should spend less time worrying about the superficialities, and more time about developing our substance – defining ourselves, and our values. This is what keeps us healthy and aging at our best.

Live long. Live well!