I have been going to the gym for the last few weeks pretty consistently and have slightly improved my diet, which is definitely a work in progress. I don't care how much I lift, because that is silly to care about, since it is indicative of pretty much nothing useful. However, I also know that I am well off the strength I had, but for now I am quite happy just strengthening overall and working on my flexibility, which is pretty atrocious at the moment. I am feeling better and clothes are fitting better, so that is all the feedback I need for now.
But for some of course, it is all for show. They want to look good (don't we all) but will go to extreme lengths to do so. The increasing weight isn't tied to the way they physically feel, it is tied to the way they feel about themselves. It is because they are trying to impress others, or to prove something to others, or to make up for how they were treated once upon a time, or to get revenge on an ex, or some such nonsense. It isn't an internal motivation, it is an external chase.
I was thinking a bit about this today in relation to a couple of recent topics that have come up in the news and in discussion, but they weren't about bodies - they were on personal finance. Or perhaps it would be better to call it, bad personal finance.
One was started through an article from Australia that has seen a significant 4.2% increase in taking personal loans from the bank, which come at far higher interest rates. However, while the cost of living crisis might account for some of this where people are struggling to make ends meet, the majority has gone on cars and holidays. It is like people have no understanding of what they are doing and see credit as an endless supply.
The other part is related, where younger people are unwilling to go without, where they will spend regardless of whether the really need something. A holiday is one ting, but there are other factors that have a massive impact.
When I first moved into an apartment in Finland (around 24 years of age), I had a borrowed bed, an 80s couch I bought from a secondhand store for €20, and a two-seater kitchen table I got from a friend. The rental apartment had grey wall paper, with stars cut out of similar wallpaper stuck over picture-hook holes from previous tenants. Suffice to say, it was not the prettiest looking place, but I kept it clean and had a lot of fun there, regardless of how it looked.
However, my wife's niece and nephew are around that age now and have been in their own places for a couple years. In comparison, the rental apartments they have look like showrooms. And, every apartment they move into, they have the need to buy what is suitable to fit the new layout, or color scheme, or just for the feeling of having a new place. This is common for their friends too - and they are all students.
Are they just richer than I was?
This wouldn't be hard, since when I first arrived in Finland I was walking full-time, for a lower poverty level wage. But, my Finnish friends at the time were not living it up and they were more like me, with ill-fitting furniture that was dragged from who knows where to make do. Because after all, these were rentals.
Why would anyone spend so much to decorate a rental?
I had IKEA sheets as curtains.
And then, when my ex moved in and we rented a few places before buying, even after we bought, we didn't buy new furniture straight away, we just lived with what we had.
Live within means.
By not spending superfluously to decorate or on extras, we were able to save for the deposit on the apartment. By not kitting our apartment out, we were able to renovate it and increase its value without going into additional debt. Because of this, we were able to sell it for more than we bought it for (this is a couple years after we broke up) which meant having a deposit on another place, where my wife and I did the same.
This wasn't that long ago, but I am from a different generation.
And what I feel is happening now, is that similar to why people go to the gym and spend their time posing in front of mirrors and on social posts to prove themselves publicly, they are doing it to make themselves feel better, make themselves feel like they are winning somehow. They feel better about themselves when they are surrounded with nice things.
And I get it.
I feel better about myself now that I have a house. Not because I want to fit in with friends, but because based on where I started and all the mistakes I have made, I feel that I have somewhat still succeeded. I have managed to do something that I didn't think was going to be possible for me, and I have done it without being in a huge amount of debt, and without getting financial support from family. It is a good feeling. It kind of feels like when my body feels good, regardless of how it looks. It is where things are functioning well, rather than just looking the part.
And I feel that "function" is lacking in the view of many of the young these days, as they are spending their finite resources on the looks of things, the impression that they are doing well, even if the reality is something very different. And I feel that this is a mechanism of the instant gratification desires of younger generations now, where they have little patience to do the work necessary to get to where they want to go in a healthy way.
Instead, they will pump their body with chemicals to reach their goals faster, go on international holidays, or buy new cars, justifying their behavior as "healthy". Young people are burning out, yet they hardly work. They are in heavy debt, but they have nothing of value to show for it. They are losing weight on diabetes medication and putting on weight with testosterone and steroids.
The journey no longer matters, only the result.
And that is the short-term result, because they don't seem to consider the long-term ramifications of their actions. Getting heavily into debt in their 20s, and then complaining about not being able to afford accommodation. Filling their bodies with chemicals, and then facing what life might be in their 40s.
I was reading an article (again from Australia) about women freeing their eggs for the future, because they have been told that it is better to do it before 36. One of the clinics that does this cited that the main reason isn't that the women are facing cost of living issues, nor that they are focusing on their career - the main reason is that they don't have a steady relationship. They are getting to an age where they might struggle to have children, but still haven't found a suitable partner.
This is something I have been predicting for years.
It is part of the everything is disposable mentality. It is part of the "don't settle" mindset. It is part of the always on-demand, instant gratification lifestyle. These days, partners are very easy to find, very hard to hold onto. And this impacts on financial wellbeing too, especially as we age and are living alone for longer. Which interestingly, also impacts on housing prices.
What I think is happening is that people are so focused on getting their short-term goals, that they are missing their long-term needs. And, their goals are misaligned with reaching their future needs. But, each day, they pose in the gym mirror, they buy another item, they scroll through their feed for their next travel destination, feeling good about themselves, without feeling good with themselves.
To each their own.
It is an interesting saying to consider when you count how many people are heavily in debt and own nothing of value. But, as long as the numbers they are chasing keeps going up, they can ignore reality for a little bit longer.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
