Warren Buffett on How to Maintain a Good Mental Health? | Collection: Warren Buffett #399
[Transcript]
AUDIENCE MEMBER
Could you please expand on how do you maintain your good mental and physical health? (Laughter)
WARREN BUFFETT
Well, you start with a balanced diet. (Laughter)
Some Wrigley’s, some Mars, some See’s, some Coke.
Basically it — if Charlie and I can’t have a decent mental attitude, who can? I mean, we get to do what we love doing every day. We do it with people that are not only cheerful about it and like us, but they do their jobs extraordinarily — they like their jobs too.
We’re forced to do virtually nothing we don’t want to. I have a trainer that comes three times a week. She — I think she’s probably here. And she may think I’m a little begrudging in that particular activity, but that’s only 45 minutes, three times a week.
The rest of the time I am doing almost — well, I’m doing whatever I love, you know, day by day by day by day. And I do it, you know, in air-conditioned offices and, you know, with all kinds of help and it — I mean, how could you be sour about life, you know, being blessed in so many ways?
And then the amazing thing is that Charlie is 84; I’m 77. And we’ve slowed down, I’m sure, in a lot of ways, but we pretend we haven’t, and it doesn’t seem to bother us. (Laughs) We get along fine.
Great partners, great managers, you know, great families. I — there’s just no reason to look at any minuses in life and to focus on that. It would be crazy.
So we really do count our blessings because they’ve been many and they continue to come forth, and we’ll enjoy it as long as we can. There’s not much more to it than that.
Charlie?
CHARLIE MUNGER
Well, I wish we were poster boys for the benefits of running marathons and maintaining a very slim bodily state and so forth.
But as nearly as I can tell, neither of us pays much attention to any health habits or dietary rules — (laughter) — and it seems to have worked pretty well so far. I don’t think we can recommend it to everybody, but I, for one, don’t plan to change. (Laughter and applause)
WARREN BUFFETT
Really, from the moment we get up to when we go to bed at night, we get to do all kinds of things.
We get to — associating with wonderful people is about as good as it gets. And, you know, we live — we’re biased, obviously — but we think we live in the best country in the world and have all kinds of good things. I mean, just imagine — (Applause.)
We could have stayed in my grandfather’s grocery store, and it would have been hell. (Laughter)
CHARLIE MUNGER
By the way, this relates to the subject of corporate compensation.
You’re in a job which you would pay to have, if that were the only way to get it, and you’re supposed to be an exemplar from other people — for other people. There’s a lot to be said for not paying yourself very well. (Applause.)
WARREN BUFFETT
He points that out to me regularly. (Laughs)
(Source: https://buffett.cnbc.com/2008-berkshire-hathaway-annual-meeting/)
~ Please visit the site above for full video of Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.
[YAPSS Takeaway]
A good mental health is when you can do what you love and eat what you like.
