Don’t Look Back; Don’t Give Up; Don’t Give In!

Inspiration can come from any place.  I was flipping through a book which sat on my shelf for many years deciding whether or not to keep it.  I stumbled onto a page with the heading, “Harness the Power of Positive Pressure”.

You have to read this:  

I’ve noticed that many people who begin their transformations with full force end up losing their drive after a few weeks.  One way I help them overcome that setback is to teach them how to harness the power of positive pressure.

My observation is this:  Most people in America have been conditioned (that means someone or some system has taught them) to believe they should “coast” through life as much as possible – they should avoid “pressure situations” and gravitate toward circumstances where no one is demanding anything from them.  This is not good.  It’s not good at all, especially if you’ve decided to change your body and life.  You see, contrary to popular belief, deep down inside, you want pressure; in fact, you need pressure to feel excited and passionate about life.

Real-life examples of people performing heroically under pressure can be seen everywhere:  the fireman who rescues a child from a burning building, without a moment to spare; the quarterback who scores the winning touchdown, with time running out on the clock; the doctor who saves a dying patient’s life.

The fact of the matter is, we are all capable of so much more than we might believe we are, but our ultimate potential is often smothered by what society teaches us – that pressure is a bad thing, that it hurts rather than helps our efforts to improve and become successful.  Eventually, after years of conditioning, most people see pressure as an obstacle, not the powerful, driving force it really is.

You see, the truth of the matter is that it’s through pressure or “stress” that we evolve—that we grow. 

This insight, the power of positive pressure, amazed me. 

As we venture into a new year, we could all use a fresh perspective. This simple but effective philosophy delivers encouragement as people vow to do better with their finances, health, relationships, and job performances.   

We often compare physical wellness with financial wellness.  These two are similar in terms of measuring health in both areas.  So it should not be surprising that the inspiration just shared was from Bill Phillips’ book, Body for Life.  We could have just as well read this from a book titled Money for Life.   This advice is applicable to all areas of our lives.

Let’s continue.

Think about it:  The fundamental principle of building a stronger body is the process of overcoming stress, or “resistance”.  We force our muscles to work, and this effort in turn forces our muscles to adapt.  If we put no pressure at all on those muscles, if we present them with no resistance whatsoever, what happens?  They atrophy. They dissipate. They weaken.

The same equation applies to our growth in the areas of our careers, our relationships, and our knowledge.  It is only through the right amount of pressure that we continue to move beyond the level of mere existence or “comfort”.

To harness the power of positive pressure, start with regularly subjecting your muscles to a healthy dose of stress by working out.  Then, invite other challenges back into your life.  Rather than run from pressure situations, or pretend they don’t exist, face them.  Seek them out.  In doing so, you’ll find that positive pressure brings out your best.  You’ll be raising it to a new, higher level.

And that, in every aspect of our lives, is what we should do.

That is what positive pressure can do.  

Improving our finances can be as challenging as improving our physical bodies.  No pain, no gain.  This is why persistence is important when we meet resistance.  We can so easily look back at our previous attempts to stay on track with our budgets.  In frustration, we give up and give in to our desire to escape the hard road and opt for the easy road and simply coast. 

When we heed the advice to harness the power of positive pressure, we vow to work harder at improving our financial muscles.  When we force ourselves to make changes to our spending and saving regimes, we are forcing our financial muscles to adapt.  Yes, we are putting pressure on ourselves in an attempt to become financially stronger. That’s a good practise to adopt for the beginning of a new year.

“Don’t look back! Don’t give up! Don’t give in!”

That’s your prescription for this new year. Repeat as required.

Do you have a prescription you would like to share for everyone’s benefit? Please post your comments below.