Recently, I got to take a short vacation with family & friends to Beaver Creek, Colorado. It is a small resort town centered around skiing in the winter, and hiking, river rafting and mountain biking in the summer. As it is one of my favorite things to do, I went on a 6 or so mile hike to a lake. As the hike wore on, the group that began as 5 started to dwindle in numbers. During a stop after approximately 2 hours of hiking and climbing around 1700 vertical feet, there was a disagreement on what to do. Knowing we were really, really close to where we were supposed to end up, I wanted to press on, but the other two in the group did not, citing the thigh deep (in places) snow.
So… What Did We do?
At the risk of getting lectured for hiking alone while not properly prepared, I’ll say that I went on and the other two turned around, after much debate about not wanting to leave others alone in the forest, etc. (I put my reward at the end) Once this happened, I got to thinking about goals, how bad you want to achieve them, and what you will do to achieve them.
Is there a time in personal finance or health when you just need to go it alone?
This is a tough question to answer, but I’ll try to shed some light on the subject. I really, really wanted to finish this hike and get to the final destination (a lake), so I decided to press on. This also applies in personal finance and in personal health. When do you press on in personal finance by staying at home and cooking a meal when going out for a quick bite to eat with some friends does not cost that much (in the grand scheme of things) and it’s far easier than cooking when you’re tired. The answer to that question comes from you — How bad do you want to become debt free? Do you want to become debt free more than you want to eat at the pub down the street? If someone asked you the question, you’d say something like “Well, of course I do, I’d much rather pay off my credit cards than eat one dinner out”
But, is that how things are actually working on the ground? Are you forgoing the dinner out to pay down debt, or are you just going to go along with your friends because you’re a bit tired, and going out is the path of least resistance. You say it’s because you have not seen so and so in a while and it was good to catch up, but if that was the case, you could invite them to your place for dinner. In this situation, Do you go it alone? Do you want to accomplish your goals enough to say “I think I will just eat at home tonight, but thanks.” As Dave Ramsey says: no one cares more about your money than you do.
This does not just apply to personal finance. It also applies to your personal health. There’s a lot of talk about getting an exercise buddy if you want to keep up your fledgling habit. A workout buddy will keep you accountable, as there will be someone who is counting on you being there to work out with. I’m not here here to knock workout buddies, because I’ve had them before and they work well. It helped me establish a habit (that has since fallen by the wayside) of working out consistently 4 times a week.
However, what happens if you have a workout partner that is basically a flake? How many times do you field a call from them 30 minutes before you are to meet up, before you’ve left home or work from them saying they cant make it? What do you do? Do you just skip because you’ve had a busy week or you’re really tired? If so, How many times do you skip the workout because your partner cant make it before the rubber hits the road? Do you keep staying home until it comes to the point where your workout buddy does not even bother to call anymore? Or do you go it alone?
It all comes down to how bad you want to lose weight, get in better shape or whatever you resolved to do when you set out to find a workout buddy. If you wanted it bad enough, you would go it alone until you made it a habit, saying “man, i’ll feel like crap if I skip out today” instead of the chore it was precieved as before you started (“I should really work out today”).
To paraphrase Dave Ramsey No one cares about your health more than you (& your loved ones). Keep that in mind when you’re considering skipping a step for a goal that you really, really want to accomplish.
And for those curious, here is what I saw when I got to the end of the Trail.
When Should You Go it Alone?
About the author
- More at
{ 7 trackbacks }