Ayn Rand and a Productive Purpose

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."– Annie Dillard

Ayn Rand was interviewed by author Alvin Toffler (Future Shock) in the March 1964 issue of Playboy. In that interview, her novels Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead and Anthem were discussed as related to her conservative thinking. In the interview she said “My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” She went on to say many things such as “In order to be in control of your life, you have to have a purpose-a productive purpose.”

Give some thought about your “purpose” (an intended or desired results; and or aim, intention or determination). Just think if your purpose was to be mentally and physically healthy? If that was so, then one would think about, learn about and incorporate better nutritional and exercise habits.

If more people in this country directed their attention and purpose to better mental and physical health, just think of how much better our country would be? We know from research that being overweight is associated with numerous physical problems such as cardiovascular, disease, diabetes, stroke and cognitive issues that can lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s. We also know that better nutrition and aerobic exercise are major ways to combat these issues. No one ever said that it was easy to become or stay healthy. We also know that the food industry is not our friend when it comes to nutrition. Sugar, sodium and additives can be our enemies if not used in moderation.

Evaluate or discover your purpose in life. And if you need to make changes, do so while you can. Remember; keep moving it’s good for you.

From Secretariat: I could not agree more with Alvin's  philosophy. Some would disagree but your own happiness is the only purpose in life so do what makes you happy. I run because living a healthy lifestyle makes me happy. Also helping others gives me great pleasure. So today I ran with my Dog Jade. Being with my wife Debbie and my Dogs  has given me the happiest days in my life.