This week's Pep Talk: "Absence or Prevalence"

The heated debate about reforming our nation’s health care system seems to have at least one thing we all agree upon: The United States of America must find a way to control the ever-increasing costs of the system.

There are, obviously from the quibbles in Congress, differing opinions about many things - public option, tort reform, purchase across state lines - but it’s easier to find a needle in a haystack than someone proclaiming, “health care is too cheap.”

So I think we could get an “amen” from just about everyone, when speaking of cost, the system is broken. A recent Price Waterhouse estimate says the expense each year for America’s health care is about 2.5 trillion dollars. And here’s the embarrassing kicker: Of that 2.5 trillion dollars spent, according to Price Waterhouse, half is for what it calls “absence of personal responsibility.”

Whenever leading a Pep Talk concerning living, despite its challenges, a successful life, toward the end of the discussion we talk about “courageously eliminating any self destructive behavior preventing us from expressing ourselves in healthy and productive ways.” One of things we talk about is “what are we putting into our bodies and minds?”

If the Price Waterhouse survey is even close to being accurate it’s shocking to realize half the nation’s health care bill would be eliminated if we started taking better care of ourselves: more exercise, sensible diets and weight control and less risky behavior concerning what we eat, drink or smoke.

We can haggle longer than the best Senate filibuster over a host of possible reforms but it sounds like, considering half the cost is absence of personal responsibility, until there’s a serious discussion about what we – personally - must do to enact change, the system will remain, for too many, too expensive, inefficient and elusive.

Mahatma Ghandi once said, “We must be the change we wish to see in this world.” It seems we Americans must be the change we wish to see before our dysfunctional health care system is transformed.

And you know what? An “absence of personal responsibility” is usually the demon that leads to the downfall of many things we cherish: marriages, professions and friendships to name a few.

This week, let’s turn this discussion on its head. Let’s focus, in our thoughts, words and actions, on the “prevalence of personal responsibility.” Despite what life throws our way tempting us to stray from healthy and productive behavior, let’s resist the temptation to demonstrate an absence of personal responsibility. Instead let’s make sure it’s prevalent – at home, work and community.