EVERYONE IS SMART, EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO SELF-CARE
- Madhukar Dama
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
INTRODUCTION: THE CURIOUS CASE OF SELF-CARE AMNESIA
In meetings, we quote Einstein.
In WhatsApp groups, we debate economics.
At weddings, we talk politics, parenting, and planetary health like seasoned experts.
But when it’s time to sleep on time, drink water, chew food properly, or sit under the sun—
We become clueless toddlers.
We behave as if the body will take care of itself.
As if self-care is optional.
As if health is separate from intelligence.
This is the tragedy of the modern Indian: sharp in opinions, dull in living.
We act smart in every area—except when it’s time to take care of ourselves.
---
SECTION 1: THE ILLUSION OF INTELLIGENCE
We know how to:
1. Drive cars but can’t digest food.
2. Invest in mutual funds but don’t know how to poop naturally.
3. Build startups but fall sick with acidity, piles, and anxiety.
4. Speak five languages but cannot say no to junk food.
5. Write books but never read their own body signals.
Real intelligence is living well.
Everything else is memorized performance.
Self-care is the final exam.
And most people—especially the educated—fail it.
---
SECTION 2: EVERYONE WANTS TO BE SMART, BUT NOT HEALTHY
A modern Indian will argue about:
Vaccine efficacy, without drinking enough water.
Nutrition charts, while gulping biryani in three minutes.
Mental health theories, while scrolling till 2 AM.
Child psychology, while giving the child chips and a phone.
People do everything to prove they are smart—
Except the one thing that proves true wisdom:
Living in harmony with the body, nature, and breath.
---
SECTION 3: WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL IN SELF-CARE?
1. Because it’s not fashionable.
Green smoothies are cool.
But squatting for a good poop? “Ew.”
2. Because it’s not urgent.
People fix a broken phone in 1 hour.
But ignore constipation for 5 years.
3. Because it’s not profitable.
Self-care doesn’t get likes, promotions, or awards.
It only gives peace—and that doesn’t sell well.
4. Because they never learned it.
Schools taught algebra, not how to breathe.
Parents taught fear, not how to sleep with calm.
5. Because they think they’re too smart to suffer.
They believe disease is for the weak.
Until it’s too late.
---
SECTION 4: THE SYMPTOMS OF SELF-CARE ILLITERACY
Looking fresh on Instagram, but dead inside.
Taking protein powders, but unable to pass motion.
Wearing fitness watches, but not walking.
Reading health blogs while eating chips.
Discussing mindfulness while screaming at the maid.
This is intelligent stupidity—where knowledge replaces action.
Where information becomes a trap.
---
SECTION 5: THE ROOT PROBLEM — SEPARATING THE MIND FROM THE BODY
Society glorifies thinking.
Society ignores feeling.
The body is treated like a vehicle—until it breaks down.
And the mind becomes a master that never listens.
But the truth is:
If the body is not happy, no intelligence matters.
If you ignore sleep, food, movement, rest, relationships—
Then no success, job, salary, or degree will save you.
---
SECTION 6: THE COST OF BEING “TOO BUSY” FOR SELF-CARE
You will pay with:
Back pain
Thyroid imbalance
Acidity
Constipation
Diabetes
Infertility
Insomnia
Depression
Anger issues
Low immunity
Brain fog
Premature aging
And then you’ll run to doctors, therapists, astrologers, and temples.
All because you didn’t go to bed on time.
---
SECTION 7: SELF-CARE ISN’T A TREND. IT’S AN ANCESTRAL INTELLIGENCE.
Your grandmother never read health books.
But she:
Ate with her hands
Chewed slowly
Sat on the floor
Slept early
Used the sun and soil as medicine
Talked to cows and plants
Trusted her body’s signals
That’s real intelligence.
Not Google searches.
Not smartwatches.
Not PhDs.
---
SECTION 8: WHAT REAL SELF-CARE LOOKS LIKE
Sunlight before screenlight
Food from the soil, not the packet
Sleep like it’s sacred
Movement like it’s prayer
Water before caffeine
Breath before bandwidth
Rest without guilt
Love without control
Courage to say no
Self-care is not selfish.
It’s survival.
It’s self-respect.
It’s how we return to our natural intelligence.
---
SECTION 9: THE MOST POWERFUL SENTENCE
If someone asked you,
"How smart are you?"
You’d show your achievements.
But next time, ask:
"Can I take care of myself, without depending on pills, apps, or someone else’s permission?"
If the answer is no—
Then you are not smart.
You are just trained.
---
CONCLUSION: START BY BEING STUPID ENOUGH TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
The world doesn’t need more clever people.
It needs present, rested, clean, well-fed, peaceful humans.
You don’t have to prove anything.
You just have to care for your own body like you would for a child, a garden, or a sacred animal.
Because in the end—
It’s not how much you know.
It’s how well you live.
---
DRESSED IN BRAINS, ROTTING INSIDE
He knew how to shake hands,
Quote Freud, Foucault, and Forbes,
He knew six TED talks by heart,
And still forgot to drink water.
He could explain GDP
But didn’t poop for four days.
Could crack a boardroom
But couldn’t crack his joints without pain.
He wore brilliance like a jacket,
Tailored to impress,
But beneath the cloth—
Fatigue, ulcers, and gas.
He had charts for success,
Apps for meditation,
A smartwatch that beeped
While he scrolled through degradation.
He ordered organic quinoa
But didn’t chew his roti.
He bought vitamin D pills
But hadn’t seen the sun since Holi.
He inspired youth,
He motivated crowds,
But his own mirror
Watched him decay without sound.
He said "discipline is power"
As he skipped another walk.
He said "mindset is everything"
While sleeping at 2 on TikTok.
His treadmill was a hanger,
His yoga mat was dust,
His bones ached with silence,
His diet was rust.
He flirted with burnout,
Married caffeine,
He was a god on LinkedIn,
But a ghost in between.
He knew the names of CEOs,
But not of his gut bacteria.
He read the Bhagavad Gita,
While binging on bacteria.
He planned five startups,
Built none.
Bought five books,
Read none.
Made five to-do lists,
Finished none.
Took five pills,
Healed none.
He praised ancient wisdom
And drowned in sugar.
He spoke of simplicity
While drinking designer water.
He laughed at villagers
Who squatted to shit,
While popping pills
To force his own bowel to quit.
He was everything the world respects—
Educated, driven, refined.
And everything nature rejects—
Disconnected, bloated, blind.
Because no matter how smart you pretend to be,
Your body knows.
And it’s been watching you
Become your own disease.
So go ahead,
Make that pitch.
Raise your finger like a prophet.
But when the lights go off,
You're just another idiot
Who forgot
To take care
Of himself.
---
