“Life Is like a Ten-Speed Bicycle” By: Maria Serrano

We currently live in a culture that revolves around instant gratification. People want things now, even when realistically speaking some of those things take some time to achieve. Whether it is a happy marriage, a promotion, or a successful carrier, there’s a process involved. Life is becoming more and more about immediate results. People focus on what it is that others do to achieve “X” with the hope of achieving the same results but faster. Consequently, the web is saturated with articles on “how to achieve or get to  X faster”. It is this constant focus on speed that not only minimizes the importance of the results achieved but can even become an obstacle to real sustainable progress.

As I was reflecting on our culture’s infatuation with immediate results, I remembered a quote from my favourite comic strip, “Life is like a ten-speed bicycle, most of us have gears that we never use” (Peanuts – May 29, 1981). I found this metaphor quite interesting when I related it to a specific personal experience. A couple of years ago, I decided to attend a spinning class as I was very curious about why people got into it so much, even though they were not going anywhere. Every time I went to the gym, the class was full and people looked like they were in the race of their life. The first few sessions were challenging for a variety of reasons, beginning with the fact that I not only had to adjust the bike to my height but I had to get used to the bike itself.  Secondly, I was trying to go at the group speed, so I switched the gears up and down as per the instructor’s directions. This not only left me exhausted but was taking away from the exhilarating experience that others were having and that had attracted me to the class in the first place.

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Health issues couples can have from an improper marriage

There are many studies across the world that concluded that married couples live long and the mortality rate decreases for people in relationships. However, there is a flipside to the coin where it has been found by relationship counseling centers that unhealthy relationships can lead to a lot of health problems in life. The stress factor plays an important role in being healthy or unhealthy and this is where counselors can help the couples in keeping good relationships rather than arguing about everything. Both men and women find it difficult to cope with their health and the following are some of the problems that arise due to bad relationships.

Depression

It is the most likely health issue that stressed up couples would encounter. Whenever there is a fight or misunderstanding the level of stress increases and this gradually pushes the pair or someone in the pair to a depressed state. According to a counseling centre Burlington, the individual might not express the symptoms of depression until it’s too late. It is also found that there is a 25% greater chance of getting depression among unhappy couples when compared to happy couples.