Part of my job involves coaching and training other pastors. It always strikes me how quickly pastors want to share ideas. Some of their ideas are horrible, and it occurs to me that their relative merit comes from both the consumption of raw materials and whether they put those materials to practical use.
For example, some people consume bad stuff quickly, gobbling it down and then spewing it out as fast as they ingested it. These people are farts. They love to share ideas that are half-formed and half-baked. But they’re eager to share quickly. The odor of their contribution lingers for a long time, making everyone else wonder: why did we invite that guy?
Other people consume bad stuff slowly, thoughtfully, and with some concern given to minding their manners. But they’re still eating bad food. These people are crappy. They share ideas they’ve thought about for a long time and have even scrutinized—inviting the opinions of others—but nonetheless, garbage in, garbage out.
Of course, not everyone consumes lousy material. Some people are smart, thoughtful, and discriminating about what they put into themselves. But they never apply it, so all the potentially good stuff goes to waste. These people are fatsos. They know what they’re talking about, tacitly, but you can’t really trust their opinion due to their lack of experience.
Finally, there are a few people who consume good things and immediately put them into practice. They turn knowledge into experience and have good insight into why things work and which things work best. These people are regular, though—sadly—they are few and far between.
So here’s my advice for anyone who wants to be healthy at work: Eat right and exercise. Study good material and put it into practice every day.
If that doesn’t work, see a doctor.