#10 The Common Denominators Of Disaster

The common thread of how people end up at rock bottom.  How do people's lives crumble and ultimately lead to the giant train wreck at the end of the tunnel? 

The cause has been around since humans first began. Juvenal, a Roman poet, was alive for the downfall of Rome and wrote about the pitfalls in that society.  Translated from Latin his phrase is "bread and cheap circuses." 

  Roman leadership wanted the public to follow them blindly and began their quest to dull the public.  How was it done? Cheap bread and circuses.  They gave the population the basic needs of life and slowly led them to ignorance. Cheap bread and circuses can be explained as: "To generate public approval, not by excellence, public service or policy, but by diversion, distraction or satisfying the most immediate and base requirements of the populace." 

See an similarities between then and now? Many. The media is huge, panic news is on 24/7 in stores and households, celebrities and their movies dominate our free time, video games have sucked in [young] adults to the point where they have become incapable of social interaction or fulfilling their talents and to what extent? This is cheap circuses.  We are being consumed by these screen addictions for 'cheap' entertainment. 

Challenge: Track how much time (and perhaps money) you spend on entertainment.  The average screen time in the American household is stunningly high.  Whats something better we could be doing with our time? What are we blindly being led to be addicted to?  When we spend so much time on screens, we are entertained but it doesn't lead to happiness, or joy.  It can turn into other substance abuse, porn addictions and deep depression. 

This doesn't mean that screens are of the devil and should never be used.  We want to have fun, and in our culture it's usually sitting down watching TV. But what are some other productive activities that you can have fun while doing?   What is something that is fulfilling yet brings happiness in your life?  

1. Hobbies that you can teach your kids
2. Start family traditions
3. learning a new language
4. reading and learning from a great book 

There are so many other things that you can do to bring success in your life without seeking the easy flow of cheap entertainment. 

Other great insights!