Transform your brain from foe to friend.
We condition ourselves to seek safety. Unknowingly, the safest path may be the most dangerous.
Take a gander at the psychology of weight loss.
Americans are too fat. The numbers don’t lie. The average woman weights in at five foot three and 170 lbs. Men clock in at five foot nine and 200lbs. If the term Svelte was an animal. it would be classified as an endangered species.
Why is it that the average American acts like he is auditioning for a role in Saving Private Ryan savagely storming food courts all over our great nation?
Health performance coach Dan Go has an idea.
We have an obesity epidemic because losing weight is hard.
- People create an internal script for reasons why they are obese. Bad genetics, lack of discipline, or I have always been this way are headliners. These negative anchors become self-fulfilling prophecies.
- Unrealistic timelines. If someone has a 40 year weight problem, is it realistic to expect a six week solution? Internet fraudsters prey on this mistaken belief further fueling the downward spiral when results fail to appear,
- Perfection is the enemy of the good. An all or nothing approach derails more plans than a lack of effort. It’s easy to give up when one lapse equates to failure.
- Terrible environments feed temptations. Food companies spend billions to get you to consume their fat and sugar laden creations. Not having non-food in your home along with supportive friends goes a long way.
- Food is an awful way to manage emotions. Many eat due to stress, boredom, etc., – not because they’re hungry. learning your triggers is essential to keeping the pounds off.
- Poor routines add pounds, Routines create discipline. Regular eating times and other daily processes replace motivation.
- Trying to fix everything at once. Obesity leads to lack of sleep, muscle, mental health issues, and other problems. Trying to solve all them at once is a recipe for disaster.
Like so many other aspects of health, these same principles can be applied to becoming a successful investor.
One of the biggest takeaways we can add is implementing an identity change. Just like an overweight person with preconceived learned helplessness on the causes of their obesity, many investors fall under the same spell.
There’s a difference in becoming an investor, not someone trying to make money. Patience and consistency are essential for building wealth. Turning these traits into default behavior and part of your identity is superior to a get rich quick mindset.
Time horizon plays a significant role in building wealth. Similar to the dieter who gives up in frustration after the six week program fails to negate 40 years of bad habits. Investors fall for the same trap. Understanding time is on your side and not playing the same game as active traders makes all the difference.
Stacking your house with Pop Tarts and Pringles creates a bad eating environment. Discipline is a product of a dearth of immediate availability. The same applies to good investing, Being tuned into market-app notifications, hype -driven finance influencers or delusional friends vomiting unsolicited nonsensical advice hinders good behavior. Eliminate the distractions and observe how decision making prospers.
Mahatma Gandhi offered counsel on our conditioning to safety and falling for the illusion of false protection. A No uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a Yes merely uttered to please. or worse, to avoid trouble.
Creating your own new pathways is the ultimate problem solver.
