Treating your health journey like a long-term financial strategy
““The most important investment you can make is in yourself.””
This quote from Warren Buffett is based in the paradigm of money, but it has no less relevance to us with our own health journeys. Disclaimer for folks reading this, I am an economics nerd. BUT, this nerdish tendency has a solid outcome with this article, so do me a favor and stick with me.
Sound money minds tell us that for true long term success, we need to have a long term outlook. The short term gains that come with risky investments are flashy and they can have wild success, but they also come with big potential downsides and losses. As I said, there is more risk. So why can we not treat our health and our wellness in a similar manner?
Do short fitness ‘cure-alls’ or ‘solutiuons’ actually work? Sure! Maybe! But are they sustainable? It depends. I know I tried my share of quick health fixes that should have solved all of my problems. From the Whole 30 to intermittent fasting, the south beach diet to keto… these were not long term, sustainable investments into my health. For me and my personality, they were risky, short term bets that for me, had quick gains and long losses. I made money in that first month, but lost it and more over the following years. (not knocking for others. If they work for you, awesome!)
So I have landed on this, treating my health journey like a smart, long-term financial strategy. Invest little steps every day that become routine and part of my lifestyle. Much like paycheck contributions to a retirement account, I do small things like daily walks, writing down my food, and meal prepping. These things raise my awareness and how I value my health, but they do not require me to upend my lifestyle or change my… being. My personality. They become my being and my personality. If we do it correctly, we find those activities and habits that compliment who we are and therefore they enhance our being and our day to day lives!
But with markets comes fluctuations. My 401k has had a rough 2 years with the recent economic uncertainty! And actually, over the past year my health and body has not had the best luck. I have backtracked on a lot of the progress I made. But this is where I bring into the conversation the term ‘ceterus paribus’. This is Latin and means ‘all else equal’. We use this idea a great deal within economics and social science when trying to measure the effects of a single variable. Example, what impact did the rain this summer have on corn prices? Because there are so many possible factors, like consumer demand, heat, cost of fertilizer, cost of shipping, etc. on the price, we hold those constant to try and isolate the impact of rain. So how does this relate to me and my health. Well how often do you view your health journey holding all else constant? You judge yourself for gaining a few pounds this month, ignoring how your environment may have changed.
The past year my family got a puppy, my son turned 1, both my wife and I changed jobs, inflation increased and with it economic uncertainty, I have had family health concerns, and many other things happened. All of these are real things that impact my health, my stress, my sleep, and my body. So I gained back some of the weight I lost. Am I bummed? Yes. Do I wish I was better? Yes. But do I recognize some things were out of my control? Yes. So I am still investing in my health 401K. I am working hard to get my daily walks and to track my food. And I know this current environment will change again and these lifestyle investments will again gain compound interest and I will get back in the swing, moving my health in the right direction.
I am not making excuses for what happens, because we need to take ownership of ourselves and take responsibility for our actions, but we can do things right and still have external factors influence our outcomes. There are bull markets and bear markets. But those who remain true and faithful to the little things - those little personal investments that we can control - they win out in the end.
