Be Grateful, You Have Health Care

People always strive to upgrade and enhance their current situation. It is a constant cycle of progress, something that never stops.

“There’s always room for improvement,” many coaches like to say. But sometimes, these new fixes and upgrades can lead to unexpected consequences with detrimental effects.

Take the popular smart phone company, Samsung, for instance. Producers at Samsung are keen on making their smart phones faster, lighter, better. New and improved upgrades to the current Samsung smart phone are released roughly every year, with tweaks added even more frequently. But as technicians continued to innovate, returns on their efforts diminish, and the pressure to move forward, to show measurable progress that will bring commercial success, escalates.

With the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in August 2016, reports of the device exploding went viral.

Galaxy Note 7 were catching fire, allegedly due to overheating of the battery. It soon became clear that this new upgrade would be detrimental to Samsung and would negatively stigmatize their company forever.

Sure, they never meant for this to happen, but it did, and their plan to release a new and improved version of the Samsung smart phone backfired.

Another example of progress gone wrong, Donald Trump’s desire to  repeal the Affordable Care Act was supposed to benefit Americans. At least, that is what Trump had claimed. Repealing this health law that ensured every citizen in the US would have health insurance would “give people more freedom” to choose where they spend their money.

However, since 2010 when the Affordable Care Act was introduced, the gap between the rich and poor in the US has decreased. The budget deficit was reduced by $143 billion because the US government’s health care costs were reduced. Lives were being saved because people had health insurance.

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act dislike the fact that it is a requirement and failure to have insurance results in a tax penalty. They preached that it would overall improve people’s lives to repeal the law.

Unfortunately, these opponents are apparently oblivious to the consequences of dismantling the ACA.

The Congressional Budget Office reports that repealing this health law will increase federal budget deficits by $137 billion and increase the number of uninsured by 19 million.

Good thing Trump’s push to repeal failed.

Whether they realize it or not, people get so caught up in always trying to make things better and be better that they don’t appreciate the benefits of their current situations.

It is simply human nature.

Most goals targeting improvement are good, healthy ones, but to do so recklessly, without considering the potential negative consequences of such pursuits, can be counterproductive. Too much innovation without respect for the positives inherent in the status quo, and the whole thing may just blow up in your face.

I’m talking to you, Republicans.

I guess my point is, it’s important to have strong goals in life because with out them, how will you find motivation? But once in a while, take a deep breath and realize that being grateful for what you have is important too.