Willful Blindness vs. Healing Yourself
How willful blindness can undermine your health and wellness.
Willful blindness is a term used in law to describe a situation in which a person seeks to avoid civil or criminal liability for a wrongful act.
Well, I’m no lawyer, but I do see a lot of ways in which this correlates to health and wellness. So let's take that term and personalize it in the context of healing yourself.
Do you choose to make excuses or blame your circumstances for your health challenges instead of taking responsibility and making changes?
In other words, do you live in a state of willful blindness? Does that state cause pain and dysfunction in your present and future?
Will that state eventually affect others when you have to depend on them to care for your personal needs and property?
Your beautiful body does its best to do what you ask of it everyday.
Are you expecting the impossible of your body?
For example, do you expect to begin healing yourself from everyday stress and pain without first asking your body what it needs to complete that task?
Are you asking it to survive on limited calories and nutrition, yet still expect to perform like a top athlete?
Are you asking your body to work at peak performance with little to no sleep?
Are you asking your joints to stay mobile without taking the time to realign and strengthen them?
If you are just willfully walking around believing everything is okay, but not paying attention to your body, true healing is going to be hard to come by.
It may sound kind of harsh for me to address your health in this manner, but I encounter this attitude all the time. And I know I’m not the only one.
I’ve been speaking with many health and wellness professionals who are passionate about helping individuals help themselves. They devote their lives to wanting more for other people than they want for themselves.
If you were to chat with them, many have a similar story to mine.
They have walked through adversity or supported others through their misfortune, and they don’t want to see anyone else experiencing that kind of pain and suffering- especially when they know it can be totally avoided.
When these trainers, physical therapists, nutritionists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, etc. are working with an individual, they explain that true healing takes time. However, they express constant feelings of overwhelm and frustration with how often their patients and clients are settling for the bare minimum when it comes to their health; many people just look for a quick fix and nothing more.
These health professionals just want to see people become present and recognize that they have so much potential for healing. I deal with the same issues on a daily basis, and seeing other professionals get burnt out inspired me to set out on a quest to find out why.
What are people thinking? Why are they willfully being blind to their choices?
I decided to conduct my own survey with many of my clients who are guilty of procrastination and/or inaction, as well as some of my loved ones. I specifically sought out the people I know that live in a willful blindness state. In other words, if they don’t change their behavior, their daily choices will lead them to a dependence on loved ones or the system for care. I wanted to see the driving force of their seeming unwillingness to do what’s best for their long-term health, survival and well-being.
(Disclaimer: this is not a double-blind, scientific study or anything like that. It’s merely me asking questions to learn more. You can do this independently, if you feel so inclined, to compare your own viewpoints. It’s free and extremely enlightening.)
First, I chatted with a very close relative who is 57 years old, just one year older than me. She is so physically weak that she is considering using a walker so as not to lose her balance. There are no real, physical reasons for this other than her own lifestyle and emotional issues.
Another individual, 65 years old, is also complaining his balance is off, and says that he’s afraid of falling. He has mild chronic pain, which is managed by others, with no regular physical activity or stability exercises to speak of.
Next is a woman who is 40 years old. She sits at a desk all day with no physical activity. She experiences chronic pain, fatigue and an overall sense of feeling unwell.
Another woman who is 50 years old, has two joint replacements, instability issues and chronic pain. She is pretty limited in what she can do on a daily basis.
Lastly, I spoke with someone who has lower lumbar arthritis and a very limited range of motion in the hip and back areas.
All these people should have 30+ years to live, yet they’re already very limited in their physical capacity.
I have provided each of them with things that I know will change their situation and allow them to begin healing themselves. They have to take the time to be present and do the work. All I ask for, to start, is 15 minutes a day and then, add on from there.
Lo and behold, the excuses begin:
“It’s too hard.”(Meanwhile, they haven’t even begun the program.)
“I don’t want something I’m going to have to practice forever. I just want to fix the problem and be done with it.”
“The doctor said I can just replace the joints and be good as new. I wouldn’t have to strengthen them indefinitely.”
“I have no space in my house to do this.”
“I don’t have the time to waste fixing a problem that is unfixable.”
“I’m too tired after work to do this.”
“I will get to it. I’m just not ready yet.”
“Everyone in my family is like this. It’s just because I’m getting old.”
Let me reiterate: none of these individuals have to be in their current situation.
Unfortunately, however, many people in our society have been programmed to expect a quick fix. It doesn’t help that marketing geniuses make people believe that hard work and self-discipline aren’t necessary to achieve their goals.
We are also programmed to consume bite-sized pieces of free information. Many people believe that they don’t need the full picture to begin healing themselves. This is the most dangerous piece of the willful blindness puzzle because it gives people a false sense of security instead of pushing them to see things more clearly.
Taking shortcuts to healing yourself might work in the short-term, but you’re building the house on a weak foundation; it will all come falling down eventually.
Where are all the (false) promises and ‘miracle cures’ when you have completely depleted your body, and it still needs care?
Trust me- I’m not just making this up!
If we, as a society, are really sitting in our truth and viewing health and wellness for what it really is…
Then why are 42.4% of Americans obese?
Why do more than 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, while 1 in 3 Americans are prediabetic?
Why are 50% of women over 50 expected to break a bone as a result of osteoporosis?
Why do 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain?
Not to mention heart disease, cancer, dementia, Alzheimer’s, joint replacements… The list goes on and on.
Does that sound like a strong foundation for health to you?
Listen, your physical therapist, personal trainer, health consultant, etc. wants nothing more than to help you heal, but they can’t do the work for you. You need to show up.
I ask people all the time, “Would you throw away a Megabucks lottery ticket?” These health professionals have what you need to be rich in health and wellness and begin healing yourself.
Unfortunately, the methods don’t come in the easy, little package that most people desire, so they choose to pretend that they can keep living the same way and everything will magically work out.
If you can see yourself in these stories and examples, I want to encourage you to sit quietly and ask yourself if you are willfully allowing your pain and suffering to continue. Find out if you are fooling yourself into thinking that there has to be another answer instead of believing that you are the answer you’ve been looking for.
Health, wellness and aging gracefully are all privileges that you deserve to bestow upon yourself.
Ask to see what you need to see.
Your Body Within will thank you.
For more guidance on diving within and getting to know yourself on a deeper level, download my free eBook series. Click here to learn more.