A nexus between physical and financial wellbeing??
Physical wellbeing post #1 and financial wellbeing post #3
Originally published March 6th, 2025
Intro: Tapping into an ingenious route to physical wellbeing
Welcome to physical wellbeing post #1 and financial wellbeing post #3. Here, I discuss some of the elements which have contributed to a regenerative state of physical wellbeing and muse about whether or not I can apply some of those elements to improve my state of financial wellbeing.
Background
In December 2018, I called up a close friend and asked him for some advice. I met my friend in high school and he’s always been in excellent physical condition. Up to this point in my life (I was 41), I’d always felt the most appropriate symbol of my physical journey would be a yo-yo. After I shared my assessment of my physical condition at the time, my goals and my stumbling blocks, my friend responded with some very clear, actionable advice that required commitment and 90 days of consistency.
(For anyone curious, the advice was to start with P90X and perhaps I’ll post more about that particular tool somewhere down the line... feel free to let me know in the comments if you’d like to hear more about that)
Since that conversation, I’ve experienced long stretches of being in the best physical condition of my life and I’ve used various tools. More importantly, while my physical condition has continued to have its ups and downs, I no longer closely identify my physical life with the yo-yo. That is a huge victory and it was undoubtedly kicked-off by my conversation with my friend from high school.
The tool I most attribute to the improvement over the years has been something that began in 2022. I have a group of four local friends (my high-school friend is not a part of this group) and every Sunday since March 2022, we hop on a scale and send our weight and our weight goal to one another. So, it might go something like: “Up 174.2 vs. goal of 173.9. New goal 173.2 by 12/8/24.” This group has a powerful and positive impact. We never beat each other up about the results. We laugh at ourselves VERY often. We have logged meaningful improvements in physical health including weight, energy and other medical markers. This little fellowship is super powerful!
Puzzle: How do I apply these concepts to financial wellbeing?
So, I’ve been trying to figure out how to apply these victories to another area in my life that can be represented by a yo-yo: my financial health and in particular my spending. In early December, I started to feel a sense of concern about the direction of my finances. My spending had increased over the previous several months and my cash position decreased. When it comes to financial wellbeing, it is imperative that Income exceed Outgo. As obvious an imperative this discipline is, I have struggled with doing so for most of my adult life, except when I’ve generated enough income to “cover up” for the lack of discipline.
So, my big question is: how can I tap into the same ingenuity that has served me so well in the physical area and experience the same degree of miracles in the financial area. The things I notice about the ingredients that flavor the physical victories are as follows:
It started with clear advice from an expert who I trust wholeheartedly on the subject matter
It’s fun!
It’s with friends I trust
The goals are crystal clear and the feedback is weekly
Other questions that come to mind include:
Have I enjoyed benefits as a result of the improvement in my physical condition and if so, what are they?
What benefits will I enjoy if I can improve my spending/financial habits?
I have some thoughts on the last two questions and will happily share them in subsequent posts, particularly posts focused on physical and/or financial wellbeing.
Invitation
But in the meantime, I’d LOVE to hear from you.
What are your favorite tools for physical wellbeing?
What are your favorite tools and best practices for financial wellbeing?
Bonus question: Have you ever had a physical or financial epiphany that changed your life? I’d love to hear about it.
Be well,
wellbeingGrant
