I have marveled at the astonishing level of specialization and fragmentation that has permeated our society. We are great at a lot of things with the strongest economy and military in the world, yet internally we are getting more tribal and less well.

Could it be that specialization has created a new unsustainable norm, an inability to see more far reaching connections and outcomes? Previously, the focus of education was on cultivating well-rounded individuals who possessed a broad range of skills before delving into specific fields.

For example, what has become of the versatile doctor with the expertise to handle many medical conditions? Where is the leader who worked through the ranks? The English teacher who could also fix the car? The police officer who reads the classics? The farmer who could fly planes? The chef that knew three languages?

Life is rich and it is possible that our technological ability to see and understand the world more than we ever have, has outpaced the cultural and social expectations to grow with it. Consequently, this state of affairs has driven us to unhappiness and strife.

Trends in mental health illness, especially among youth, are going in the wrong direction, predominately because of these major cultural shift we are going through. Job hopping, shootings, lying, pollution, and debt have all been normalized.

Until things settle out and we realize that “We the People” is the connective glue that holds us together, I encourage all of us to at least focus and protect one thing:

Mental health is just as important as physical health.

• To ensure optimal mental health and well-being, it is absolutely essential to prioritize and fully support mental health services as routine, as normal. Regrettably, the current state of healthcare has become excessively fixated on financial gains, resulting in a convoluted and troubling history of mental health treatment. Unless we swiftly transition towards a universal healthcare model, the issue of neglecting mental health will persist unabated, with the costs continuing to be borne by the greater society in our streets and communities.

• Furthermore, it is crucial to acknowledge the unprecedented levels of sickness our planet is currently grappling with. While we can certainly celebrate commendable achievements such as improved air quality and the preservation of endangered species, these triumphs are consistently overshadowed by emerging trends and threats that demand our collective attention. Climate change, coral, or contaminated waterways. The state of our planet has a direct impact on our overall well-being, underscoring the urgent need to safeguard the environment and recognize the connection between nature and our health at every step of our journey.

• Additionally, we must never cease our relentless pursuit of knowledge. While some of us have lost our marbles ensuring everyone is carrying a gun, we’d get much further by carrying a book and actively engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds. As leaders, it is our solemn responsibility to leave behind a more diverse and inclusive environment than the one we initially encountered, ensuring a legacy of progress and equality.

The more we know, the more we realize that life is and should be a lifelong opportunity to learn.

Let’s protect our brains in the process.

If you’ve been following my writings, one of my goals is to walk the Appalachian trail before I get too ancient to do it. I’m also a lover of Japan, having spent a life-changing time there with an adoptive family and touring businesses all over the country. Thanks to Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Nucor, Glico (everyone knows what Pocky tastes like now), I learned more about customer service and quality management in three months than any other time in my life. I gained a new model of culture and life that was distinctly less Western. Now that I know this trail exists in Japan, I’ll add it to the bucket list of things to do before I kick it.

Japan is one of the most beautiful countries to visit, not to mention one of the safest places. They have strict gun control and a society that carries an expectation to avoid shame. If you ask for help you will get it. I once left money I had exchanged on the counter of a bank. A worker ran me down two blocks away. Another time, I forgot an umbrella I set down in a train station. It was morning rush and I completely forgot about it. To my surprise, it was there when I returned that night. A friend of mine recently visited and told a story of how he lost his wallet on a train. Before he could finish, I blurted out, “I’ll bet you got it back.”

He did.

Japan is one of the only places I would not worry about a family member visiting, something I unfortunately can’t suggest about our nation. If you take this trail, not only will you get a great mental health experience, you’ll be helping local communities along the way. Like most international travel I’ve done, you will almost always gain more than you leave from a fuller mind, body, and spirit.

I find the research into our brains simply fascinating. Everything we know, everything we are, is encapsulated in a few pounds up here.

But there is still plenty of mystery.

Some people have different brain sizes or as we say, are wired differently. In the future, we might use pre-emptive brain scans to understand certain probabilities. If Elon Musk can figure out how a brain can play chess with signals of thought, other things can be accomplished as well.

The rapid rate of progress in areas we normally don’t go can be unsettling. Do you remember Bodies: The Exhibition? From a science and medical perspective, the process opened up the public to viewing things in an unseen way through a process called plastination. 

I was not a fan.

With such advances as this article, it will be up to us to pick good leaders with vision. Every move forward, whether medicine, telecommunications, or science, must have a public good attached. New therapies and alternative medicines are coming.

Be ready.

Difficult and wrenching is the best description of this story.

If you’ve dealt with mental illness in the family, you know the degree to which it disrupts not only the person going through the experiences but everyone involved. There are a few things we can consider here.

Our system is more set up to protect individual rights vs. their health. On the surface, that makes sense. Individuality is cherished in the United States. When it comes to certain treatments, the monetary system is given more service than the individual’s real needs. Our love of policy, procedures, and in many cases law to protect the status quo makes it much harder to offer solutions based upon the obvious.

Some will say that the person has a right to be what they want or not every person is worth saving. I would say a rich culture like ours must serve the best interests of its citizens and have the ability to differentiate and act.

Who benefits from the scenario in the story?

I lay no judgment on the family and simply admire their willingness to share their struggle. And if we are to make discernment for specific cases, I cannot think of a more potentially valuable member of society than someone who was once a functioning adult with obvious high mental capacity.

There is no easy answer for this or the numerous cases on our streets on any given day, but I am sure our current system of high homelessness, high prison rates, healthcare for profit, and reduction in group care type institutions, is part of the problem.

On a side note, two years ago someone in the branches of Florida government decided it would be a good thing to save on the costs associated with offering mental health services to temporary workers. There was enough questioning of this move to see it restored in the next year’s budget.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

I mentioned in a recent interview that I have never asked for a raise in nearly 40 years of employment.

For the most part, in every position I’ve had, I felt I was paid fairly for my work and outcomes. Besides, time in a position usually results in more compensation.

There are very different streams of advice when it comes to asking for a raise, and it will be more adversarial over the coming years due to the divergence of pay from inflation.

But know thyself.

When we build up certain expectations in our head it can get us off track, so I usually counsel to not focus on the money but focus on the quality of the work.

Do you feel fulfilled and happy in what you are doing? If you do, cherish that. Partner well. Learn everything you can. Grow with it.

If you are in a job that you don’t like for the money, you’ll probably pay for that extra compensation in other ways, such as stress and fewer years of life.

If you are happy where you are but feel you are underpaid, explore your options. Present a case study to your supervisor. I once raised the hourly of a staff member to a private market rate because she made a legitimate case and we had the resources to do it.

Again, know thyself. In my example of the staff member, unfortunately, this still didn’t make her happy. There were other nonwork issues, and the money was a way to cope.

Twice, I’ve rehired people who left for more pay. Sometimes the staff member needs that other experience, the alternative model, to see clearly where they are. It’s a reminder that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

This piece from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s newsletter has much more value than just managing weight.

It is exactly what we are dealing with when it comes to social media and news-for-profit models. We have been trained to want the new instead of the tried and true, the known and the steady. It’s why twenty years of excellent service in an agency can be called into question by a new voice making big noise. It’s the same mindset that has us abandon local mom and pop shops that have seen us for years for the fancy new place down the road. It’s also why we will act on the words of others before taking a close, hard look at ourselves.

It’s just plain easier.

Read this excerpt. It is running wild in our society today:

As someone who has occasional sleep issues, these are very good tips. I find that my mind tends to run more at night when there is nothing to distract it, so it is important for me to engage in a ritual like reading to fall asleep. There is so much research into the importance of getting good rest, I cannot stress this enough. Make sure you don’t cheat yourself out of quality bedtime, and if you are having trouble, take a look at the tips in the article above. No leader worth their merit can make consistently good decisions on mediocre sleep.

And Now….

Hope to see you next time. Keep reading, practice your gratefulness, and remember: Be a good human. 

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