Getting It

A good friend of mine will never eat or drink refined sugar. If the a drink is mixed with Coca Cola, he won’t touch it. If he pays for a salad only to find out the dressing has refined sugar mixed in he will throw it away rather than take a bite.

He’s done a lot of research on the detrimental health effects of refined sugar and he thinks about it all the time. He’s read the scientific studies showing mice bloat up into fat little baseballs and he knows every statistic relating to fast food, soft drinks, obesity, and diabetes. If I brought food to the apartment and offered to share, he would often reject my offer after reading the label.

He’s done the research. He lives in a world where his decisions are guided by specific knowledge he has gathered over years of learning. When it comes to eating healthy and avoiding high fructose corn syrup, he ‘gets it’.

I know that eating refined sugar is bad, sure, but I don’t take it that seriously. I don’t drink Coca Cola, but I won’t return a salad because it has brand name Ranch dressing on top.

I think I’m normal. My friend thinks I’m crazy. When it comes to eating healthy and taking my wellbeing seriously, he thinks I ‘just don’t get it’.

I’ve chided my friend for throwing out perfectly good food, but he doesn’t listen. He’s looked at the statistics, and he knows the facts. Obesity and quadruple bypass surgery are on the rise. He’s taking actions to avoid health problems affecting his life. (even though everyone else keeps eating the dressing)

He’s not alone. Millions of people have also read the research and are cutting refined sugar out of their diets. Millions of people reject high fructose corn syrup, seeing it for what it is; a poison that kills slowly. When people like this meet, they bond over their shared loathing.

When they are away from like-minded individuals, they usually find it impossible to change any non-believer’s opinion.

–==–

Anti-sugar consumers are a group of people who ‘get it’, and they are usually surrounded my masses of people who just… don’t.

They’re not the only group like this.

People who save money on a monthly basis ‘get it’. They have typed in the data on a financial calculator and observed the power of compound interest. Saving $100 per week will make them millionaires by the time they’re old. Most people will be broke at retirement age, but they are immersed in a world where saving matters.

Individuals who hit the gym ‘get it’. They know that failing to work out regularly will mean decreased energy and a lower quality of life. They also know that with continuous physical conditioning they will be able to play with their grandkids well into their 70’s. The treadmill, barbells, and bench press are part of their DNA.

–==–

There’s another group of people who ‘gets it’. It’s the crazy ones. (No, not the psychopaths or the murderers) It’s the people who do what most people are afraid of. The people who take the big risks.

It’s the people who walk out of the ‘safe job’ to start a company. It’s the people who say ‘I want to sail from California to South America.’ and find a way to do it in the next six months.

It’s the people who shout ‘NO!’…. when they’re fed up with a situation they don’t like. It’s the ones who mean it. More importantly, it’s the people who shout ‘YES, That’s for me!’ when they see something better.

Hint: They’re no more crazy than my friend who throws away his salads. They just ‘get it’.

They get that they can set a big goal, work towards it every day, and achieve it.

They get that they can read any book and learn any skill they need along the way.

They get that they can ask for help and advice from mentors who want to help them.

They get that they’ll fall down but that they’re not done so long as they dust themselves off.

They get that millions of ‘crazy’ people achieve their ‘crazy’ goals every year.

They get that these people aren’t cut from a different cloth. They get that their ‘crazy’ ideas are attainable as well.

The crazy people ‘get this’.

Sugarphobes who have read their scientific studies and avoid the soft drinks don’t die of diabetes. They ‘get it’. It’s healthy.

Investors who understand compound interest and save $100 every month accumulate $1,000,000 by the time they retire. They ‘get it’. It’s smart.

People who learn proper fitness techniques and go to the gym are trim their entire lives. They ‘get it’. It makes sense.

Crazies who set big goals, read books, gain skills, ask for mentorship, and roll with the punches are the ones who start companies, lead movements, and show others the way. They ‘get it’.

It’s all been done a million times before.