Introduction
There are times in this life that one can choose to be more decisive specially if the consequences of the decisions can impact one’s health be it physical, emotional, mental, social and others.
I find a lot of topics that merit attention. Deciding what to eat and who to vote for are good topics to put on top of my list. Why not? For the former, as the old adage says, we are what we eat. For the latter, it is said that every vote counts.
Discussion
Deciding What to Eat
In everything I do, I start with self-awareness. I plan, discern about, decide about, act on, evaluate and improve everything based on how I know myself.
If I am to start with self-awareness before deciding on the first topic, deciding what to eat, then I should say I have to be aware of my body built, my activities, and my body’s reaction to what I ingest.
My body built is obvious. My activities can be identified by reviewing my calendar. However, the relationship of what I eat to the effectiveness of my metabolism, to my moods, my disposition and behavior is quite harder to discern. If I feel sleepy at the middle of the day, I might think that the class is boring among many other things but I probably might take for granted that what I eat a while before that time could have contributed to it. Wow! So that is how powerful food is. Imagine, even our behavior can be affected.
If the first factor I consider in deciding what to eat is my self-awareness, the second factor is the nutritional facts.
Food is here, everywhere, every time. I have been eating food ever since I can remember. When I wake up, I am looking forward to breakfast. When I look around, there’s always a nearby restaurant. When there is business crisis, business man still ventures on food business because no matter what, people still eats.
Why do I eat? This is what I want to answer first if I am to decide what I should take in. I eat mainly because of nutrition. Nutrients in food bring about three things, to be furnished with energy that I need to perform my activities, to maintain my ideal anatomy and to regulate the physiological processes within me. To add fun in it, I eat with friends and family. Dining even gives us opportunity to socialize. (Koeller, 2005, page 17).
I eat to be furnished with energy. The so-called fuel nutrients in food are carbohydrates, fat and protein. So I try to eat food with these fuel nutrients at appropriate amounts. This is where I look at the caloric contents of food. We often hear low-carbohydrates, low-fat and high protein in certain specialized diets. I do not want to commit the mistake of taking in more than what I need.
To start my day, I want to try taking in fruits and cakes. I used to worry that this might not give me enough energy to last until lunch time but I have learned that it’s a misconception. Specially if taken with yoghurt, fruits can fill us up far more effectively than a bowl of cereal (Holcombe, 2007, page 23).
I eat to maintain my ideal anatomy. Some food nutrients form body tissues or are structural components of the body (Alexander, 2006, page 788). I eat healthy food to make sure that there are nutrients inside my body that can heal my tissues, give ideal shape and firmness of my muscles and strengthen my bones.
I eat to regulate my body’s physiology. Food does have effect on metabolism, mood and others. Some foods promote good circulation, boost the immune system, good for the digestion and others. Some help in good elimination of body waste. Some affects our moods. In fact, some of us do crave for chocolates or caffeine. Some craves for other substances because they give us a good feeling. There are lots of literatures on the effects of chocolates, red wine, green teas and others. Thus the food facts like these influence my decision on what to eat.
The last factor I wish to consider when deciding what to eat is food itself. How is it prepared? How does it taste? How does it smell? What is its consistency? As Michael Pollan asked, can my great grandparent still recognize it as food? I miss real food. Science has advanced so much that they have identified all the nutrients and designed edible food like substances that fill up our grocery stores but then edible food from nature is becoming less popular. When asked about what we should eat, Pollan gave seven simple but liberating words. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants (Pollan, 2008, page 146).”
I admit that I am also a victim of the media and technology’s twisted concept of food. For the whole paper, I have been talking about nutrients and caloric intake. But what do I picture in my mind when I talk about food? I picture the boxed ones, the dried ones, the preserved ones. Seldom do I imagine food as green and leafy.
With the advancement of technology, even raw food can have chemicals because of fertilizers and other treatments. Even foods that are defined as organic can still contain synthetic chemical except that they come in amounts that do not exceed levels deemed safe by appropriate agencies (Sullivan, 2006, page 1). I am running out of options.
How about the budget? Of course, my decision on what to eat should also be permitted by my allowance or budget. Is it really true that back in the old days, you can pick fresh food in the backyard?
Wow! So what do I eat? I watch what I eat but I strike for my peace of mind. I do not overdo it. If my diet consciousness becomes oddly greater than my concern for health, then it is not worth it. The stress that will come with counting every calorie that go in my body and worrying about the dynamic equilibrium of nutrients should be at my tolerance level. Otherwise, my worries will be deleterious to my health too.
With all of these concerns, I do believe now that deciding what to eat is an important decision to make.
Deciding who to Vote
We vote for the leaders. The power in their hands is given by us. So, if things around us are not that positive because of the so called politics, then a voter should not complain because everyone is partly responsible. This is why choosing who to vote is an important decision.
It is only by maximizing one’s personal effectiveness can he be able to translate this personal power to impact others (Rubino, 2001, page 23). I believe that one important thing a leader should possess is personal effectiveness. If he is not self-effective, he will just project his ineffectiveness to the people he interacts with. His immaturity will inevitably surface during his term. Worse, he will blame other things, people and situations for his faults.
I choose a leader that will not manipulate people with his powers. I expect that he will promote interdependence. Effective interdependence can only be achieved by truly independent people (Covey, 1989, page 203). So you see? Everything starts with the personality of the candidate. So in deciding who to vote for, I will research on some biographical accounts of the candidate. I hope to see patterns of behaviors and decision making. I will know where he is coming from.
Secondly, I should research about the candidate’s intentions. The goals are usually stated during campaigns as the party’s agenda. But I wish to see beyond the goals. He may have good goals but poor intentions. For instance, he may improve the environment, but not out of social responsibility but rather to impress people and to be re-elected. He may accept some contracts that will tremendously improve the lives of the people only to find out that he will get an unjustifiably huge monetary commission on that contract.
His intentions should at least include loving people. When a leader is someone who loves, then everything else follows. I know it is hard to see through a man’s heart. But with careful research as to consistency of his actions and depths of his words, I will probably decipher the intentions.
Matthew 18:12-14 describes a leader that cares for every single member of his flock. He leaves the ninety nine to look for a lost sheep. He takes time. He loves. He does not have a twisted notion of practicality. I will choose a leader who will care for me because I am within the scope of his responsibility. He cares for me irregardless of my social status.
Thirdly, it is helpful to find out the candidate’s views on pressing issues surrounding his future seat, if ever elected. I will find out his perspectives and opinions on family concerns, education, economics, religion, healthcare and security.
Lastly, I believe leadership skills really matter. I will vote for, first and foremost a visionary. I admire creative leaders. Imagine a leader that sets goals that are deemed impossible by the many. Imagine a leader that has a magical perspective and a leader who dreams. I will vote for that leader. What is a leader?
I am looking for a person with passion. I am not looking for someone who is hyperactive. For me, passion is something within. A candidate must be composed, not talkative yet he has passion. He knows his core gift and he uses them for his intentions. In the process, he enjoys what he is doing. I am refreshed to see a person like that.
I am looking for a person of action. I have seen a lot of candidates who talk a lot but do not walk his talk. He is a total waste of people’s vote.
I am looking for a person of integrity. Integrity is a powerful source of guidance for managers who want to make a difference (Badaracco, 1989, page 11).
I will choose a leader who can influence people. That will set him apart from the rest. Even if he possesses all the characteristics I stated above, if he does not have people skills, he can not make a difference in a smooth way. If he is not a people person, he can move people but probably intoxicating them in the process.
Am I being idealistic? Why not? I am to vote and in voting comes huge responsibility because as a voter I am giving power to somebody to lead me.
My guiding principle is that everything starts from self- awareness. I can decide who to vote for by looking the characteristics I enumerated above. I can only do this if I know what it takes to be personally effective, my own life intentions, how to love, my own passion for work, my own shares of action and my integrity.
I am still working on developing myself and so my decision as to who to vote at present is different from my choices in the past and may differ from my perspective in the future. At least I will not be among those who always complain about their leaders but are lazy to do their research about the characteristics of these candidates.
I remain mindful. I will do my assignments. This way, I can say that if I am not part of the solution to the issue, then I am part of the problem.
Conclusion
Deciding what to eat and who to vote for is an important decision one makes. It is important because the freedom to choose is on our hands and we are not in a situation where we are manipulated. We have a choice. It is important because the impact of these choices is direct and multifaceted.
Important decisions are hard to make but are they are sure worth the trouble.
References
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