Needs vs Wants

Awesome game last night! Since I didn't have a dog in the fight, I found myself cheering for the team that was trying to make a comeback. I guess you could say that my team won!

Towards the end of the game Honda ran a commercial for the Accord. Basically, the commentator explains that why we may want something sexy and cool, what we really need is a safe reliable car at a fair price? The entire commercial featured a still shot of a basic (boring) model Accord just sitting idle. Brilliant and timely!

This commerical got me thinking about how the wants vs needs idea applies to health and fitness. I wrote a post a while back about a lady who stopped in to see me one day. Her Dr had suggested that she start exercising immediately due to some health issues. After speaking with her for 30 minutes regarding what she would need to do to improve her condition, she left without enrolling, citing money as the reason. After leaving, she slumped into her $100k car with the dealer tags still on the back. Huh? Clearly, this was a case of her wants vs needs being a little out of whack.

Here are a few more examples:

Wants- home exercise equipment

Needs- research supports that people with home exercise equipment exercise less than those who don't have equipment at home. Save your money and apply it to someone who can help keep you accountable to you goals.

Wants- to lose weight, but you can't afford a gym

Needs- stop eating out! I challenge you to track your weekly expenses. It is always a shock to see how much money is spent on dining out. If you eat at home, you will eat less calories and save a ton of heard-earned cash. This is a win win choice!

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.

My point- use this time as an opportunity to review what you want and what you really need. Focus not on what you can't control (economy, politics), but apply yourself to the things that you can immediately impact- your health!

Rick Mayo