The “its only …” fallacy with money
WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND? When I do videos about how to become financially independent so you can follow your passions, people reply with:
I work really hard. I deserve to go out to dinner every night and "its only $20".
The “its only …” fallacy ruins many people and its not just with fitness, its financially as well. Its logic which causes Americans to have their credit cards maxed out. Going out to dinner every night instead of cooking at home is “only $20/day”. A new iPhone is “ONLY $80/mo”. Cable TV is “ONLY $70/mo”. You can lease a NEW car for “ONLY $250/mo”! Going out to lunch daily instead of making your own is “only $15”. All this little expenditures add up until your whole paycheck is gone so when you need things you put them on your credit card and will “pay for it next month”. Guess what? In a very short time you wake up like 1/2 of Americans, zero savings and maxed out credit cards with no hope of paying them off.
The “its only …” fallacy with dieting and nutrition
1/3 of America os morbidly obese. Many of these people have convinced themselves that they can’t lose weight because they have “slow metabolisms” or “hormone problems”. The truth is often a lot simpler and I have seen this first hand. For breakfast, they have “oatmeal” – thats healthy, right? The problem is that they also have a donut (175 cal) and a frappichino (675 cals). In their mind, these things don’t count because “it’s only one” donut and “it’s only one” frappichino. All those little “its only one” things during the day add up and you can easily double your daily calories giving no hope of weight loss.
The “its only …” fallacy with time management
When I did my video about “3 reason you should skip neck training” people bristled at my assertion that there were far more important things to do with their time. Here is a typical comment:
lol! u r an idiot. neck traning only takes 10 min
Here is the video:
The point of the video was that if having a huge, strong neck is necessary for one of your top 5 life goals then focus on it. Otherwise, spend your time on things that are really important. Ask yourself what your RHR is, your VO2 max is, your blood pressure is, and what your cholesterol/triglyceride levels are. If these vital indications do not indicate top health & performance then they are FAR more important to work on than your neck. You get these vitals in order with 1) good nutrition 2) daily cardio 3) lots of sleep and 4) a low stress lifestyle.
Do the most important things first!
Making your bed “only takes 3 minutes”. Neck training “only takes 10 minutes”, browsing on Instagram “only takes 30 minutes”, texting with friends “only takes 20 minutes”, relaxing at night with gaming “only takes 30 minutes”. Guess what, at the end of the day you have had a lot of fun but you have done nothing important, nor made any progress toward your life’s goals. Please see time management for bodybuilders.
Life lesson here people. Stop denying the truth.
This isn’t kindergarten where everyone gets a gold star. You can’t have everything. Life is a bunch of tough choices so choose carefully. If you are happily going thru life having fun and doing what you want while refusing to think about the future, that is a choice too.