Nothing works without personal responsibility
A couple of days ago, much-respected DNA commentator Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei picked up on some of the negative chatter surrounding personal genetics testing. She quoted an article by GP Dr. Ann Robinson:
If you find out you?ve an increased risk of diabetes and heart diseases, the advice you?d be given is exactly the same as if you didn?t have an increased risk: eat well, exercise, don?t smoke, don?t get too fat, have a test if you get symptoms.
This is the thing about good advice: it’s pretty much universal. Want to lose weight? There’s no secret: diet and exercise. Want to write a popular blog? Write genuine, original content and be a positive, active participant in the blogosphere.
“Sometimes things really are that simple.”
My friend Ricky said that to me last year, and it stuck. As a species, we like to make things complicated, but they don’t have to be. About halfway through Outswim the Sharks, which the author Reut Schwartz-Hebron generously sent me, I found a reference to The Ladder of Inference, and I was struck by how well it tied into what I was saying about stories not too long ago. Essentially, all of the in-between steps are the stories we tell ourselves.
So what’s the point here? It’s really that simple, and it comes down to personal responsibility. The DNA test won’t save us if we won’t be responsible for ourselves. The ThighMaster isn’t the answer; the diet pill isn’t the answer; the new boyfriend or job or city doesn’t solve the problems we carry within ourselves. But often it’s easier to focus on these external things than it is to accept our own incredible power.
That’s what I take away from Dr. Robinson: don’t wait for a DNA test to tell you what you already know. Take care of yourself. Treat yourself well. You deserve to be happy, to be healthy, and to be loved, and if you don’t take responsibility for yourself, no DNA test can help you.
Do you agree? Disagree? How do you treat yourself?
