I love good mental visuals that help me to keep lessons locked into my brain.
In my reading the last few days I came across a little phrase that is a magical visual. This was in a little section of my Maxwell Leadership Bible, where he has call-outs that highlight a leadership lesson from the readings and it says this within this call-out:
“Remember its better to build a fence at the top of the cliff than a hospital at the bottom.”
For my brain this is such a simple way to see the value of proactive measures in any corner of life. Taking a preventive/proactive approach to health is like building a fence at the top of the cliff….not taking the preventive approach is guaranteeing that you will have to build a hospital at the bottom! This applies to relationships, business, whatever it may be. The fences at the top of the cliffs in life are relatively cheap and easy to build when you compare them to the steep steep price of building the hospital.
The fences at the top of the cliffs in life are relatively cheap and easy to build when you compare them to the steep steep price of building the hospital.
The cost is very high financially for the hospital and even higher in terms of life quality. Some might think “well…it costs money for a health club membership, to eat good foods, and to take good supplements.” Yup…it does cost money. But it doesn’t cost as much as an angioplasty, a by-pass, and chemotherapy. How about pharmaceutical drugs….have you seen what they cost lately? “Oh, but insurance pays for that…” Really? Who pays for the insurance? Not to mention drugs are typically for a lifetime and will cost more and more (check out what seniors spend on drugs…it will get you building a fence pretty quick).
The hospital costs way more in all areas of life…..it is not worth it to neglect the simple steps of building the fence. Live today like it’s the only day you will get…but plan like there is an endless supply of tomorrows. The beauty of this, is that in all areas of life where you take time today to build the fence, you will feel better today…so there is an element of instant gratification for today as well as the securing of a better life in the future.
