Financial and Fitness Success are the Same Part 2: Opinions of Others

In my first post regarding close similarities between financial and fitness found here the topic of decision making was discussed.  This post will go over the opinions of others and its impact on the above successes.  Below is section from the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

“The majority of people who fail to accumulate money sufficient for their needs are easily influenced by the opinions of others.  They permit the newspaper and gossiping neighbors do their thinking for them.  Opinions are the cheapest commodities on Earth.  Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be visited upon anyone who will accept them.  Close friends and relatives while not meaning to do so handicap one through opinion and sometimes ridicule which is meant to be humorous.  Thousands of men and women carry inferiority complexes with them all through life because some well-meaning but ignorant person destroyed their confidence through opinions or ridicule.” 

The above statement applies to fitness or nutrition in the following ways.   First, many goals don’t start because the opinions of others destroy the confidence of those who want to get more fit or lose weight.  Next, people fall off track of their fitness journey because other people’s opinions pull them off of a plan.  Finally many people don’t want those with fitness goals to succeed as they don’t want to go through the hard work themselves – so they give their opinions to make themselves feel better hoping the other won’t succeed.

Part 3 will discuss above the line or below the line thinking can help or hurt people from achieving their financial and fitness goals.