As we walked by some local shops while on vacation several years ago, the shop employees worked hard to win our attention and lure us into their stores. Many offered a free pair of earrings, just for coming in. They assured us that there “were no strings attached.” We had no interest, and were able to pass by, but we watched as one person after another seemed to take the bait.
What is it about humans that somehow we get suckered into what should be an obvious manipulated and calculated sales ploy? We seem to fall for get-rich-quick schemes, weight loss gimmicks, and the latest Apple product launch over and over.
We tend to be most susceptible when it comes to our health. Billions and billions of dollars are spent each year on health-related products. So many of the people that I come in contact with are lacking energy, feeling pretty lousy in general, and are overweight. And all of those same people would like to have those issues resolved. Our desperation makes us perfect targets for today’s marketing geniuses.
As you read the bold headlines using the words “breakthrough,” “revolutionary,” or “the best,” or print ads stating phrases like “lose weight fast,” “more energy instantly,” or “double your income,” I want you to pause for a moment and think. With all the colorful pictures, fancy packaging, scientific wording, testimonials that are pushing us into using their program or buying their product, add a small dash of common sense.
Common sense will usually make your decision making easier and your overall satisfaction with your purchases much, much greater. Notice that I did not say it will make it easy, as marketing companies are getting smarter and smarter when it comes to pushing us toward a purchase, but using just a little common sense will make it easier.
It’s a known fact that most people boasting about results in infomercials are paid actors. Look at most drug ads on television, and you will see the words “actor portrayal” at the bottom of the screen, meaning they are not real people, thus they did not get actual results. Most print ads for weight loss or muscle building utilizing before and after photos will include an asterisk, which, at the bottom of the ad, will say “these results not typical.”
One of the most ridiculous ads on the radio right now is the one saying, “You may not be fat, you may just be bloated.” Their so-called breakthrough product will eliminate your bloating and reveal your fit and trim body that’s been hiding under all that bloating. Really? Yet I am certain millions of people call the number and buy it.
Our healthcare system, and even well-meaning doctors, are peddling the same misleading quick-fix philosophy. More than eighty percent of all health conditions that plague Americans right now fall under the description of chronic illness, a.k.a. diseases of lifestyle. These are not conditions that you catch or that come on overnight. These are conditions that take years and years to develop.
So when you are handed a pill to take for a condition, and your doctor tells you that this is the answer to your problem, before getting too excited and believing it is the answer, add that dash of common sense, and ask, if the cause of my problem was due to my lifestyle (how you eat, move, and think), and took years to develop, then how can this pill be the answer to my problem?
We’ve lost our way in so many areas and just continue down a path of continued failure and misery. We’re getting fatter, sicker, and more miserable each day, yet we think we are going to get the answer from, and we continue to listen to, the same people who got us into this mess in the first place.
My mother always said… If it seems too good to be true… then it probably is! Start using some good old common sense, and you’ll see things clearer, see through the ridiculousness of the ads and commercials, and your health and life will get better.