Invest - Wellness Wednesday
Let's see how many feathers I can ruffle before this year comes to a close!
The phrase “Invest in Yourself” needs to die a fiery death!
We are going to hear this a lot in the coming weeks. Fitness professionals, gym owners, weight loss charlatans, clothing and beauty companies, and the like really like to use this marketing tool during the New Year.
It’s not that I hate the phrase because of the concept. We ABSOLUTELY should invest in ourselves way more often than we do!
It makes me want to scream because it is invariably used to guilt you into spending money on things you don’t need or can’t afford. Every year it becomes the fitness industry buzzword. That and ‘new year, new you’.
I can vividly remember several years ago when I commented on some Facebook Group thread that I really wished I had the money to join a CrossFit gym, but they were all out of budget range for me. I was met with “Go for it!”, “Invest in yourself, you deserve it.”, “You can’t put a value on fitness and your health.” Great! That’s cool. At the time, my gym was FREE through my insurance and an average CrossFit membership was half my monthly food budget.
Another example from more recently: The question was posted, “What does everyone use for protein powder?” I responded with, “I use the Aldi brand. It has a few more carbs than I would like but it tastes good, has a 30g protein per serving, and is cheap.” The response I got was that the Aldi brand is crap and has a bunch of fake stuff in it and that I should invest in myself more and spend money on a better protein powder, followed by a link to some random website that screamed of MLM.
Here’s the thing folks. Going to the $10 a month gym, buying the cheap protein powder, having used workout equipment, wearing off brand workout clothes; THAT’S STILL INVESTING IN YOURSELF. The money you spend on that stuff isn’t going to achieve your goals. YOU ARE. And you can achieve those goals without sacrificing half your food budget or racking up credit card debt.
Don’t let someone guilt you into thinking you need expensive things so you can achieve your New Year’s Resolutions. If you want those things and can afford them then great! Go get them. But don’t be tricked and guilted into thinking that the only way you can achieve your goals is by buying special things. Things might help but hard work and discipline are what will make or break your resolutions. Hard work can’t be bought, and motivation starts with attainable goals and commitment.
And before I get the angry comments thinking I’m dogging on CrossFit or expensive workout gear or spendy protein powder, let me be clear that I am not. If those things fit into your budget and bring you joy then, by all means, buy them. This post is about the fitness industry trying to make people equate spending money with loving themselves and that concept needs to die.
Full Stop…