I am staring at these two bags of snacks. Both are advertised very heavily in the stores and commercials. One has the label of “Smartfood”. The other I would associate with comfort food. Commonly accepted to be unhealthy but delicious. The smartfood one goes a step further from the name by putting right on the front of the packaging “Only 70 calories per cup”. It sounds better, and healthy to me. If I were being health conscious I’d grab the smartfood one without thinking much about it.
There is a catch, right? I am sure you know where I am going with this.
There is. Upon turning the bags over to read over the nutritional facts, I was surprised to see the comfort food snack had fewer calories than the smartfood option by the same weight. Furthermore, it also had less fat, cholesterol, and sodium. The only place the smartfood option nudged out was the comfort snack, and only by one gram was in protein and dietary fiber. In terms of total carbs, the smart food snack had two fewer grams. It all comes down to what you yourself are counting. Realistically, if you were being health conscious you would not eat either of these. And whether one of these is more healthy than the other is not my point.
The Devil is in the Details
We cannot take things at face value always, but look at the fine print. Ask questions and don’t make assumptions. So how can we apply this to our daily lives? I am certain we run into these opportunities on a daily basis and may not even take notice.
Has your kid brought home a report card with a below-average grade; something that was completely unexpected? We shouldn’t just assume it was a result of little to no effort. We should be asking questions without accusations. How did they get here? Perhaps, we learn that there is a struggle with a teacher. As an adult when you don’t click with someone it can be difficult to work together or at least not be distracted by the strained relationship. Or perhaps it is a subject they simply do not enjoy and can’t grasp. I have had plenty of those in school and professional career.
“Good” Habits
Probably a better example that personally resonates with me is replacing a bad habit with a “good” habit. At face value when wouldn’t this be a good thing? I have successfully cut social media from life. It has been nothing but a positive in my life. One solid benefit has been my relationship with my phone is not what it is to many others. I’ve replaced this time with reading a book. I often have one with me, so it could be a spare moment in the car when I crack open the book. I might be waiting for the microwave to finish the popcorn and I will read a page or two quickly.
It sounds healthier, right?
But how does our daughter view my “good” habit? Does she see my face any more than if I were staring at a screen? She may feel just as bad with the book as she does with the phone. To her, it still represents a missed opportunity to connect. Is there really a difference if we are still ignoring the world around us? If I am not able to give the people around me the attention and focus they deserve did I really replace a bad habit with a good one?
Of course, I stick with the opinion that reading a book is a far better habit than social media. However, this is not a blanket statement. We need to be able to look at the finer print and to ensure we haven’t replaced one obsession with another at the cost of our relationships and health.