Why Behavior Matters

The foundation of this blog is that the vast majority of our so-called contemporary crises can be traced to individual behaviors.  If you agree with the majority opinion of Americans over the past 30 years, that the country is headed in the wrong direction, it should be reassuring to find that this negative trend can be traced to the consequences of our actions and decisions.  We are not victims!  Things are not beyond our control!

What the media and the politicians tout as crises, are situations we have gotten ourselves into and can get ourselves out of.  They are situations we can improve by improving our behavior.  Everyone makes mistakes, but if we educate ourselves about the source of these errors, poor behavior in five key dimensions, there is hope.  That hope does not come from political leaders of either party or from advocacy groups or helping organizations.  It comes from people becoming more disciplined, responsible, logical, values-oriented and savvy on economic matters.  That, in turn, forces the media, advertisers, the government and industry to respond to us in new ways, based on our new behavior.  By acting correctly more often we save ourselves from pain and also avoid contributing to larger societal problems.

Weekly I give a couple of examples of how poor choices can lead to bad outcomes, hoping to educate people about this new model, this new way of thinking.  Do you think that you or your children being overweight is something Michelle Obama can or should fix?  Do you think your being unprepared for retirement is the fault of some bank or the government?  If you do, you don’t remember that long before the Great Recession many Americans were using their houses as piggybanks, abusing their credit cards to take vacations they couldn’t afford or to buy things they didn’t need and betting on the market while they signed for loans on first or second houses .  We spent our money on the equivalent of witchcraft:  unproven supplements, psychics, magic bracelets, shoe inserts and feng shui.  If it was green, organic or based on ancient oriental wisdom, it went into our shopping carts without a second thought.  We bought things and acted in ways to impress our neighbors; fighting over the latest athletic shoes and designer merchandise; buying cooler cars and clothing; and believing the hype that these would make us more successful, more lovable, happier or better persons.  When the consequences of our actions arrived, we called ourselves victims, hired lawyers or voted for candidates who promised to fix our problems painlessly with (nonexistent) government money!  “Most people believe that individuals alone can't make much of a difference” as this article on energy conservation tells us, but the cumulative efforts, actions and decisions of everyone working together are so powerful that it can make or break America regardless of government regulations or industry initiatives.

Ultimately, our behavior does have consequences.  Our errors catch up to us every time we are lax in these dimensions.  Unlike the news, politicians, or ad campaigns, I am not trying to entertain, flatter, frighten or tell people what they want to hear.  This is the truth.  We, and we alone, must take control to get better outcomes.  It all adds up.  Examples are so easy to find and I will continue to present them here.