What do physical fitness and personal finance have in common? On the surface, there are a lot of differences between your fitness program and financial wellness. One involves income, spending, saving, and investing. The other involves physical activity, nutrition, and overall health.
Fitness programs have always been a big part of my life. So when referring to fitness, we’ll be talking about both sides of the equation, including physical activity and nutrition. Being raised by a dietitian and having a love of sports had me interested in both early on. Looking back, I feel fortunate to have built habits in both areas at a relatively young age.
Financial and fitness programs are behavioral, and they’re personal. Hopefully, this blog post resonates with some people, but it can’t be relatable to everyone. So all I can do is tell my story and share the experiences I’ve learned over my lifetime with the hope that it makes an impact.
When we’re changing habits, complexity is the enemy of progress. Here’s what simplicity looks like in each of these areas. - Nutrition: Eat real food and not too much. - Fitness: Get moving doing something you enjoy. - Finance: Spend less than you make and invest the difference in something you understand.
How do you lose weight? Count your calories. Every single thing you eat. How do you improve your finances? Track every dollar you spend. How do you improve your workouts? Record every workout in a journal so you can monitor progress.
Humans are not rational creatures. This is an important point because so many models and research efforts in the United States are based on the assumption that humans think rationally. Yet, over and over again, we have proved this to be wrong.
The small daily decisions and habits formed over the years compound, and you can often visually see those that take good care of their bodies and those who don’t.