Dearest readers, today I would like to share with you an important topic that's centered around a major lifestyle lesson- the difference between being high maintenance and highly maintained. As someone who lives in a large-ish, vibrant city with a lot of teenagers and young adults working hard to make it in their careers and social lives, it has become glaringly obvious over the last few years that people are conflating high maintenance and highly maintained- a mistake that could eventually affect our collective quality of life. That said, I would like to go into the difference between the two, which one we may want to focus on more, and finally how fixing this problem will impact all of us in a positive way.
Let us begin.
High maintenance seems to be a badge some people have chosen to wear with pride, and their ranks are swelling- especially in major urban hubs. Whether by going into debt, or by spending ungodly portions of their income, these people believe in buying the most expensive creams, lotions, perfumes, colognes, makeup, clothing, accessories etc., in an attempt to project a higher value in society and climb the social ladder. Also, it is something they signal to potential partners they would need financial help with if they pair up with them, and that this is non-negotiable like the air they breathe. To these habits, they often add non-surgical procedures like permanent makeup, chemical peels, botox and more. The amount of products and services geared towards high maintenance "pros" is seemingly limitless. Many of you may identify this pattern of behavior with girls, although I assure you guys are joining the ranks more and more each day.
Highly maintained, on the other hand, is something that is completely different from high maintenance. People who are highly maintained focus on health, energy, strength and longevity. These people understand that the human body has its limitations, but most people taking care of it the typical, average way typically do not reach their body's full potential- something every human eventually regrets as they get older and sicker. They focus on health, beauty and power by maximizing their natural potential. A healthy diet, regular workouts and stretches, internal locus of control, a well-researched stack of vitamins, minerals and supplements, safe experimenting with new bleeding edge health foods and ingredients, they do it all. Besides making their minds and bodies healthier this way, they also maximize their beauty and attractiveness from the inside out. As they follow this behavior pattern, they also become more aware of behaviors, products and services out there that are damaging to most people and they skillfully avoid them more times than not.
Now, how does conflating high maintenance with highly maintained work, and why is it bad? Conflating these two works in such a way that people who are high maintenance think they are highly maintained. So, more times than not, they engage in all the high maintenance practices, but little to no highly maintained practices! One hidden reason why people go high maintenance is because they have neglected the value of health, natural beauty, energy, strength and power to such a degree that they have to regularly overspend on masking their condition with makeup, injectable fillers, expensive clothes and accessories in order to detract for what is really going on. This makes them look as healthy and even more polished than highly maintained people (sometimes), but the truth is that they are not all right on the inside and represent a risk to themselves and others. This fact is at the heart of the problem that this particular conflation poses.
People who are high maintenance and think this is all they need to embrace often overindulge in socializing with tons of drinks, unhealthy foods, they do not replenish their bodies with vitamins and minerals, they do only cardio at the gym if they go at all, they are protein deficient, their immune system and metabolism are not at their natural peak, their energy levels are propped up by caffeine, and they are typically at increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, chronic stress and anxiety, and even different types of cancer. As you age, pair up with someone and you need to be responsible, helpful, reliable and a true team player, you cannot do any of that properly if you are a typical high maintenance person without any highly maintained types of habits and behaviors. Not only that- as you age you become high risk for tons of preventable diseases and mental conditions, and in a country like Canada that can seriously mess up healthcare and access to medical services, specialists, diagnostic imaging and more, thereby affecting all of us! That is why it is way more important for people to focus on being highly maintained with only a few high maintenance traits and behaviors to top up whatever you cannot achieve after you fine tune your body and mind. This is ideally what you should go for in your own life, and look for this in people when you start romantic relationships. Besides, high maintenance people are nice to have in your life, but they do not offer any real benefits or advantages to themselves or to you- it's usually just a facade.
So now, imagine you take this perspective at least semi-seriously. Imagine the possibilities when you date or you are friends with someone who embraces something like a low carb diet, eats really healthy, is at peak physical and mental health thanks to added supplements and at least minimum useful time at the gym, someone who does not need naps, someone who does not get stuck in bed when they get flu, someone who sticks to a two drink maximum and a psilocybin microdose when they go party, someone who has tons of energy even without coffee... Adjectives like adventurous, tireless, playful, empathetic and positive come to mind. With all of these health benefits, they typically need less cover up and can look richer even with cheaper clothes on. Health is wealth, and this has not changed one bit. This type of scenario, if lifted to the highest value in our society, will increase everyone's quality of life and will take a huge burden off our healthcare system; maybe we will be able to get MRI's in weeks, not months haha.
There we have it, dearest readers- something to think about. I just wanted to share a few insights. Everyone is free to do as they please, no one should be forced to do things they do not want to do. But, not everything we want to do or feel like doing is good for us, and there is such a thing as better and worse things to do in life. Call me old school, but I still believe that there is such a thing as a hierarchy of ideas. ;)
Stay awesome out there people :)
Let us begin.
High maintenance seems to be a badge some people have chosen to wear with pride, and their ranks are swelling- especially in major urban hubs. Whether by going into debt, or by spending ungodly portions of their income, these people believe in buying the most expensive creams, lotions, perfumes, colognes, makeup, clothing, accessories etc., in an attempt to project a higher value in society and climb the social ladder. Also, it is something they signal to potential partners they would need financial help with if they pair up with them, and that this is non-negotiable like the air they breathe. To these habits, they often add non-surgical procedures like permanent makeup, chemical peels, botox and more. The amount of products and services geared towards high maintenance "pros" is seemingly limitless. Many of you may identify this pattern of behavior with girls, although I assure you guys are joining the ranks more and more each day.
Highly maintained, on the other hand, is something that is completely different from high maintenance. People who are highly maintained focus on health, energy, strength and longevity. These people understand that the human body has its limitations, but most people taking care of it the typical, average way typically do not reach their body's full potential- something every human eventually regrets as they get older and sicker. They focus on health, beauty and power by maximizing their natural potential. A healthy diet, regular workouts and stretches, internal locus of control, a well-researched stack of vitamins, minerals and supplements, safe experimenting with new bleeding edge health foods and ingredients, they do it all. Besides making their minds and bodies healthier this way, they also maximize their beauty and attractiveness from the inside out. As they follow this behavior pattern, they also become more aware of behaviors, products and services out there that are damaging to most people and they skillfully avoid them more times than not.
Now, how does conflating high maintenance with highly maintained work, and why is it bad? Conflating these two works in such a way that people who are high maintenance think they are highly maintained. So, more times than not, they engage in all the high maintenance practices, but little to no highly maintained practices! One hidden reason why people go high maintenance is because they have neglected the value of health, natural beauty, energy, strength and power to such a degree that they have to regularly overspend on masking their condition with makeup, injectable fillers, expensive clothes and accessories in order to detract for what is really going on. This makes them look as healthy and even more polished than highly maintained people (sometimes), but the truth is that they are not all right on the inside and represent a risk to themselves and others. This fact is at the heart of the problem that this particular conflation poses.
People who are high maintenance and think this is all they need to embrace often overindulge in socializing with tons of drinks, unhealthy foods, they do not replenish their bodies with vitamins and minerals, they do only cardio at the gym if they go at all, they are protein deficient, their immune system and metabolism are not at their natural peak, their energy levels are propped up by caffeine, and they are typically at increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, chronic stress and anxiety, and even different types of cancer. As you age, pair up with someone and you need to be responsible, helpful, reliable and a true team player, you cannot do any of that properly if you are a typical high maintenance person without any highly maintained types of habits and behaviors. Not only that- as you age you become high risk for tons of preventable diseases and mental conditions, and in a country like Canada that can seriously mess up healthcare and access to medical services, specialists, diagnostic imaging and more, thereby affecting all of us! That is why it is way more important for people to focus on being highly maintained with only a few high maintenance traits and behaviors to top up whatever you cannot achieve after you fine tune your body and mind. This is ideally what you should go for in your own life, and look for this in people when you start romantic relationships. Besides, high maintenance people are nice to have in your life, but they do not offer any real benefits or advantages to themselves or to you- it's usually just a facade.
So now, imagine you take this perspective at least semi-seriously. Imagine the possibilities when you date or you are friends with someone who embraces something like a low carb diet, eats really healthy, is at peak physical and mental health thanks to added supplements and at least minimum useful time at the gym, someone who does not need naps, someone who does not get stuck in bed when they get flu, someone who sticks to a two drink maximum and a psilocybin microdose when they go party, someone who has tons of energy even without coffee... Adjectives like adventurous, tireless, playful, empathetic and positive come to mind. With all of these health benefits, they typically need less cover up and can look richer even with cheaper clothes on. Health is wealth, and this has not changed one bit. This type of scenario, if lifted to the highest value in our society, will increase everyone's quality of life and will take a huge burden off our healthcare system; maybe we will be able to get MRI's in weeks, not months haha.
There we have it, dearest readers- something to think about. I just wanted to share a few insights. Everyone is free to do as they please, no one should be forced to do things they do not want to do. But, not everything we want to do or feel like doing is good for us, and there is such a thing as better and worse things to do in life. Call me old school, but I still believe that there is such a thing as a hierarchy of ideas. ;)
Stay awesome out there people :)