Barriers: Investing part 2
Barriers are present in all aspects of life and come in a multitude of forms. Some forms are more foreboding and difficult to overcome than others. For example, both mountains and fences are barriers to travel. However, the energy required to move over, around, or through a mountain is far greater than that to overcome a small, wooden fence.
As a doctor of physical therapy I do my best to truly practice while practicing. Lame puns aside, it was not long into my career before I learned the importance of helping patients identify and overcome their unique barriers - with as little effort on their part as possible. In this second part of our series on investing I will explore many of the common types of barriers people experience when working towards a happier, healthier, and more independent future. I will also highlight ways I commonly help people remove or overcome these obstacles.
Before moving forward however, I must stress this: The three ‘scales’ in investing should not be considered alone, nor the barriers we’re about to discuss. These variables and barriers interact with each other. As such, they must be viewed as an entire, integrated whole - just as your mind and body and their various components are a whole, integrated being.
Time.
Time is your most valuable resource - assuming you have the health to enjoy it. As such, time is the most commonly voiced barrier to investing in oneself. Unfortunately, I have not (yet) developed a way to squeeze more than 24-hours into a day. That said, one of my oldest memories is my mom teaching me about efficiency while picking up toys. I have expanded this lesson to various aspects of life. For example, I listen to audiobooks while driving and do home-exercises while brushing my teeth. Another strategy I frequently employ with clients is to design one exercise that accomplishes the goals of many. Thus, six exercises, each targeting a different group of muscles or movement patterns, becomes just one, highly valuable exercise.
Of course, these are just a couple of the strategies I employ to help people overcome the time-barrier. If you want to learn more about efficiency hacks for all aspects of life, I recommend the books The 4-Hour Work Week, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef by Timothy Ferris. Or, you could just shoot me an email.
Memory.
The second most frequently encountered barrier is the statement, “I just forgot.” Our minds tend to operate on patterns of thought and behavior that, much like a roller-coaster, carry on to a predictable conclusion with little-to-no effort once initiated. These patterns are called habits and help improve efficiency and reduce energy expenditure. However, if behaviors necessary to invest in your future are not part of your regular routine, the roller-coaster of your day is likely to deposit you back in bed at night before these investment-behaviors even come to mind. Not only do our patterns of thought and behavior tend to repeat themselves, they can be difficult to change. Much like ruts in an old dirt road, getting out of these habit-loops is difficult. On the up-side, there are strategies that can be used to turn these patterns of behavior into an asset instead of a liability.
If you would like to learn more, I suggest you read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, Good to Great by Jim Collins, or give us a call at (509) 350-2506.
Understanding.
While not often mentioned, understanding is likely the biggest barrier to investing in oneself. Now, this may be partially due to its intimate connection with Trust, which will be discussed further in Part 4. However, lack of understanding is a very real barrier that must be addressed if you are to unlock your true potential. For example, if someone tells you that purchasing a house is a worthwhile investment for your financial future, that’s great. However, if you do not understand the various ways a home can generate wealth (equity, appreciation, tax-shelter, etc.), you are less likely to make the investment. Of course, you do not need to have a PhD-level understanding of economics to understand and act accordingly. Similarly, you do not need to understand how breathing a particular way can decrease pain and stress; you do not need to understand how carbon dioxide and not oxygen levels drive your innate urge to breath, and you do not need to understand how an abdominal scar creating tension through your diaphragm and Simpson’s Ligament can lead to headaches. However, the better you understand the way your body works and how (not just what) specific actions can be expected to positively impact your future, the more likely you are to take said actions.
For more information on the finance side, I recommend the books The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason, Creating Wealth by Robert G. Allen and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki, among others. For the healthcare side, there are numerous textbooks and online articles available. A few of note include: Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain by John J. Ratey, Why Does it Hurt? The Fascial Distortion Model: A new paradigm for pain relief and restored movement by Todd A. Capistrant, DO, MHA with Steve LeBeau, The Anatomy of Hope: How people prevail in the face of illness by Jerome Groopman, Becoming a Supple Leopard: The ultimate guide to resolving pain, preventing injury, and optimizing athletic performance by Dr. Kelly Starrett with Glen Cordoza, and the resources on Breathe Your Truth. If there are any particular areas of health or the human body you wish to learn more about, feel free to reach out and I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction. And, of course, if you want to understand how to overcome pain or movement problems keeping you from living your best life, an excellent next step would be scheduling a free Health & Goals Strategy Session!
Cost.
For many, finances are a barrier to investing in: retirement, a house, their health, etcetera. While some wash their hands of the conversation with a curt comment about people spending money on what they truly value, I feel the conversation is much wider and deeper.
Many people value a retirement savings. And yet, moving money from your bank account to a retirement account presents a challenge, especially when living in a culture of immediate gratification. In order to reduce this barrier to investing towards retirement, a series of measures were introduced in the 80’s. One of the ways these measures helped people overcome the immediate financial cost of saving for retirement is through auto-deductions. A person who opts in for auto-deductions does not experience the sense of loss as they watch money with current value leave their control in order to provide greater value later. A similar approach to helping people overcome barriers to investing is implemented by a company called Acorns, which rounds your card purchases to the next dollar, automatically investing the remainder in stocks.
Another way measures introduced in the 80’s helped people overcome the cost of investing for retirement was to increase the relative value of invested dollars through tax deductions. This same measure is used to help people better afford healthcare through the use of FSA and HSA accounts that allow people to spend pre-tax dollars on healthcare.
That said, a bad investment is still a bad investment. Purchasing 100 shares of Lehman Brothers stock in early-September 2008 is a poor investment compared to even one share in numerous other publicly traded corporations. The same is true in healthcare. If a healthcare provider is the best in the world at solving the very problem you face, every dollar you spend obtaining their assistance is yielding a better return than it could from any other source. Conversely, if a provider does not have the skillset to address your problem, it does not matter how little they cost, it is still a poor investment.
At Dotson Physiotherapy, we leverage many strategies to help people overcome the cost-barrier to obtaining quality healthcare. For example, we accept FSA and HSA payments for appropriate services. We also provide FREE Health & Goals Strategy Sessions to help connect people with providers best suited to meet their needs and priorities, especially if that means sending them somewhere else.
When asked what surprised him the most about humanity, the Dalai Lama replied:
“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
To learn more about how to overcome cost-barriers, I suggest reading the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz and/or The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
To learn more about the strategies and skillsets we employ to help minimize their cost for obtaining quality health and wellness services, please explore our website or contact us by phone, text, or email.
Preview.
I invite you to join us in our next blog as we discuss ways to tip the scales towards investing in a better future by making small changes that have a huge impact on motivation and subsequent action! Hint: The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Franklin Covey was a big influencer as I began refining this aspect of helping people move towards their potential.