This relates to an article I just read/TED talk above that I just watched: Dan Buettner spoke about "Blue Zone Regions." Blue Zone Regions are regions where people live the longest throughout the world. Buettner mentions that those who live with a sense of purpose are going to live longer. Those that live "rewardingly inconvenient lives" are going to live longer, as he put it quite beautifully. He discusses the U.S. and how it's focus is elsewhere - our environment has become bombarded with competition and stress. I feel as though Americans are constantly looking for a reward, a quick fix. Buettner and his partners decided to make an American town a Blue Zone last year, which involved making walking to school easier, public gardens, and a more walkable and bike-able town. The results proved that the Americans could live just like the Sardinians, given the right environment. "If the trends continue, life expectancy for the average participant would rise about three years and health care costs for city workers would decrease by 48 percent," Buettner says. Maybe the health care debate would not be so heated if preventative healthcare was valued more.
This is where I thought of Barry Schwartz. He encouraged doing things because they were the right thing to do - he said even if your job does not involve skill, it involves compassion.
Do you think it's too late for America to become a Blue Zone Region? What would it take?
Wow that's so interesting! I think that it would be near impossible to transform America into a Blue Zone Region, due to the currently enormous amount of problems in our country. People seem to be working to avoid such problems like the economy and healthcare, and to change this sort of mindset would be an impressive feat.
ReplyDeleteI know this sounds terrible, but I feel like in order to make America a Blue Zone region some sort of natural disaster might need to occur. As an example, what is happening right now in Haiti is just so awful and destructive, but in the very very long run a whole new Haiti with new values has the potential to emerge. It seems the only way to create a Blue Zone Region is to bring things back to square one so the idea of living with a sense of purpose can be developed.