Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 188
medical costs, but there is still a lot of improvement to be made. As long as the patient
doesn’t have to write a check from a personal account to pay the hospital or the doctor,
the invoices are normally not questioned by the recipient of the services. Health
Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) that scrutinize the need and cost of services, find
strong criticism from health services providers. In turn, the providers find a strong echo
on an unfit, aging population unwilling to assume responsibility for its preventive health
maintenance.
The presently existing business plan for such an important issue as the health care of
all Americans is a sure recipe for permanently escalating costs. Those of us who pay
insurance premiums but minimize our need for services by taking care of our bodies
ultimately and disproportionally fund these costs. A better policy in the field of public
health should include first an economic incentive to the recipient of services in a more
direct way to practice preventive care. Second, it should establish an element of savings
to the recipient for selecting the most affordable procedures, as opposed to open-ended
seller-driven practices still prevalent today. And third, it should create a protective shield
to the provider of services from wanton liability suits. The end result of such an
improved business plan would not be just abating the inflation endemic in health care
costs but just as important, it would strengthen our incentives for individual character
formation and responsible lifestyles.
The connection between character formation and pushing the envelopes of our bodies’
limitations is best illustrated by my experience with running. At first glance the art of
putting one foot in front of another for hours at a time is more of a dunce’s pastime than
a spirit building effort. The effect is quite different. Depending on each person’s level of
fitness, after some time of demanding aerobic effort every cell in the body demands to
stop the discomfort of continued, forced, high-gear work. The brain must push the body
through the portals of endurance into the domain of controlled pain. The valley of selftesting
is dry and unforgiving, but the runner, to achieve the objective, must be
unrelenting until the end. It is a question of mind over matter, where patience first and
will power later must overcome every natural inclination to stop. Slowly the brain must
harden muscles and bones to withstand the punishment of physical exercise. It is not a
territory for the fainthearted or weak of spirit. But always the payoff is worth the
sacrifice. Running is like a microcosm of life. When the difference between mediocrity
and excellence is just a little more effort for a little longer time, a honed runner has the
advantage to understand how excellence is achieved. Such a person is able to
consciously apply a little more work for a little longer to do her or his best, thus besting
the competition.
When exercise is tied to competitive training, strength of spirit is crucial. If one has not
developed it before, there is no chance for success. Preparing for competition is
significantly more trying than just working out to stay in shape. A competitive athlete, no
matter what level of talent he or she might have, must extract from the body everything
that is available on a daily basis. Workouts cannot be put in a savings account for future
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