One size really does fit all, just as long as the only fit you want is a bad fit. There are some situations in life that will accommodate all comers. But those situations are very few and far between. Airport security should be a one size fits all situation. After all, everyone has to be appropriately vetted to ensure safe travel for everyone. But even that has some exceptions.
Restaurants serve the same food to all comers. But there are always special requests that allow for some personalization. Perhaps some guests would like extra sauce. Others want the special sauce held altogether.
There are many examples of situations that seem ubiquitous. But closer examination shows that even those situations account for individuality. So why would anyone accept a one-size-fits-all solution for some of the most important aspects of their lives?
Individual Solutions For Individual Challenges
Here are three areas that require individual solutions:
1. Addiction Treatment
The first thing you need to know is that addiction is not a moral failure. It is a brain disease. It is also a cultural phenomenon that has been present in all human societies as far back as we can trace.
The reasons people get addicted to drugs are as varied as the people who get addicted. These are just some of the top reasons:
- Genetic disposition.
- Social pressure.
- The intoxication of authority and influence.
- Pain and prescription drugs.
- Dual diagnosis.
No two people are the same. And no two reasons are the same. Therefore, it makes sense that no two treatments should be exactly the same.
It has been shown that men and women respond differently to different kinds of treatments. But within that group, individuals respond differently. Your triggers will be different from those of another person. The process of breaking the chains of addiction is a little different for everyone.1
2. Diet
Remember when there were four food groups? Or is it five? Some even say six. However many there are, dairy keeps making it into the list. That’s great news unless you to be among the 1/3 of humans who happen to be lactose intolerant.
Your diet is going to have to look a little different from that which is recommended by the Attorney General. Bread used to be a food group. Perhaps that has been voted off the food group island.
Then there’s meat. Who doesn’t enjoy a nice slab of tender, juicy, flavorful steak? Probably none of the 22.8 million Americans who say they follow a largely vegetarian diet.
The point is that diet is a personal thing. It has to do with individual taste, preference, culture, worldview, health and other life goals, and so much more. A dietician can put together a meal plan that is formulated to help the maximum number of people live the longest possible life. But at the end of the day, few people would accept it without modification. And neither should you.
3. Financial Plan
How much money do you have? More importantly, how much money do you need for retirement? Perhaps I am still jumping the gun. Are you even planning on retiring? Or would you prefer to continue working up to your very last moment? Neither choice would be a first, nor particularly uncommon.
Your goals are uniquely yours. And the amount of money you need is as personal as the amount of money you currently have. A financial planner can only connect the dots between the amount of money you currently have and the goal you say you want to reach. Both the start and end points are different for everybody.
No two people experience pain in exactly the same way. We do not react to drugs in the same way. One amount of a particular drug cures one person while it addicts another. One is freed from the addiction with one method, while another method is needed for someone else.
One person eats a meal from the Surgeon General’s recommended list and feels better. Another person eats the same meal and feels worse. One person saves no money and retires well; another person saves every penny but retires in poverty. No two lives are the same. Neither are the solutions to any of life’s major challenges.
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