95. complex systems
Systems are complex. Just look at the body. How much do you really know about what goes on in there? Probably, very little. Within complex systems, such as the body, or larger systems like the “Healthcare” system, processes can be so tightly coupled together that they’re often hidden from us. Yet, given enough time, certain things will express themselves and therefore be seen as normal (e.g., disease processes and rising Healthcare costs). In other words, what looks like a sudden traumatic event like a heart attack, or a freak accident like the complete failure of the “Healthcare” system to bolster people’s health, is just a normal expression of a flawed system over time.
The acceleration of stressful inputs we’ve seen placed onto an already broken system has sped up the eventual outcome — we’re all dying by subscribing to the “Healthcare” system. For those who choose to see it, these events are allowing us to see where the cracks are, both in how we individually have the power to capture health, as well as the failures of the “Healthcare” system at large. The disproportionate amount of stress placed on our flawed system is quickly bringing to light the faulty processes that many were previously unaware of, and may have taken another decade or so before they would have arisen organically. Tragic, but true.
If we can look at these freak events — i.e., the failure of the “Healthcare” system to create healthy people, instead of the walking dead who scour the earth surviving on meds — not as outliers, but completely normal outcomes of a flawed system, then we can understand it’s just part of the process. Think… it’s not a bug, it’s a feature! What we do with our newfound awareness will dictate the system we use to capture health in the future. We can learn from this because after all hindsight is 2020.
Where once we thought freak accidents happen, we can now understand how small things over time can have a large impact on system small and large. So, looking at all the things you know you need to do to get healthy, yet are able only to complete a fraction, don’t think you’re a failure because you only checked off 2 of the 10 things that have been recommended to you. Instead, appreciate the fact that those 2 positive things you’ve completed today impact 10 different things positively, just in subtly different ways that are hidden away within the larger system. In time, you’ll find greater health and find value in checking off more boxes so you can steer clear of any freak events in the future.