On Getting What You Pay For…
Money. The elephant in most rooms. The thing we don’t like to reveal about ourselves despite all the other gossip, emotional outbursts and secrets. The number in the account, the cash in the undisclosed drawer, often dies with us.
We spend our whole lives trying to convince ourselves (and others) that it’s not THAT important, that we needn’t waste time talking about it and our lives won’t change much, regardless of how we do or don’t spend it.
Personally, I’ve always been pretty good at managing my funds. Never been in debt but also never been overly burdened with huge sums of cash that I don’t know where to put or what to spend it on. I had an intuition that free time and energy, ultimately, is more valuable than money since I can remember.
That being said, my livelihood, courage and choices have been hindered for many years because (put simply) I didn’t wish or dare to acknowledge the following truth: that, in this life, you generally always get what you pay for.
Buy the cheapest airline ticket, the service will suck; watch free youtube content only, your muse will be left unmet; eat the cheapest version of all the cheapest foods, your body will feel undernourished.
There are limits to this rule (or a steep curve, called convexity, rather) - the 500 euro a night hotel room is going to be pretty similarly lavish than the 750 euro a night hotel room for example; where as the 50 euro room compared to the 500 is like landing on another planet.
Typically the more organic/natural the object or experience then the steeper the curve. A full body massage, for example, at 100 pounds is bliss, just as the 300 pound version is also. The five-course 1-michelin-star experience is just as delightful (and silly) as the 2-michelin-star version. Hiking is hiking to a large extent, whether your in Scotland, France, Hawaii or Alaska.
Nonetheless, the premium, high-quality experience matters. It really does.
A few things that I insist on investing in now that I never used to (just to provide some context):
> I drink high quality coffee as much as I can - never instant coffee or cheap stuff from a vending machine if I can help it
> I pay for the books I read and often read them through twice - if it’s free then I typically don’t value or absorb the content as much
> I pay handsomely for good quality teaching / education - mostly in the realm of physical movement education, as it has the most transferable benefits to other realms
> I buy expensive bread, pretty expensive muesli, cheese, vegetables, juice, meat and butter etc - the staples and the stuff I really like
I’m not neurotic with my brands or calories or schedules, or even doing these things 100% of the time no matter what (I actually deliberately break these habits occasionally just to re-evaluate my perspectives again, by doing, say, a wild-camping trip for 2 weeks).
Generally though… everything is better about my life - my wellbeing, health, creativity, confidence, productivity etc - when I pay for the premium.
Accountability is something we’re lacking more and more, I believe, in today’s world. To show up, (wo)man up and stick to your guns no matter what. Sick pay, welfare and the general taboo that’s emerged around ‘hurting peoples’ feelings’ gives us every chance of falling at the first signs of doubt, insecurity or physical weakness.
Giving your word (to some degree) helps to follow through with our dreams and plans. But committing financially and already paying in advance… that’s the game-changer! The 360 degree slam dunk in the basketball game that is life!
Even very wealthy people (especially very wealthy people) don’t like to waste their money, and so to pay, in most cases, is the best chance of ensuring that we show up. And as Woody Allen famously said: “80% of success is showing up”.
Moving on to the teaching / education domain specifically, I believe wholeheartedly in what Ido Portal and others continue to preach on the importance of education (real education!) for genuine change.
Want to lose weight? You don’t need a diet fad, a personal trainer, a miracle weight loss drug… you need Education.
Want to write a novel, make the Olympics, run a marathon? You don’t need discipline per se, and you don’t necessarily need a coaching team, an inspiring spouse or the latest hi-tech gear (though they might help somewhat)… what you DO need however is education.
Education obviously can take many forms and lead to various practical outcomes, but to be learning and changing as a mind-body is the purpose. Hence the title of this piece - good education comes at a COST. It requires time, research and attention, and even personal one to one communication.
This is not the copy and paste version of education I’m talking about: the Youtube video, free newsletter, Instagram-feed kind. This is the human experience of being seen, researched and questioned; of reflecting and experimenting further and further, in small doses, day after day, year after year.
Ideally this should be physical (for the body keeps the score, as they say). This way it’s also somewhat measurable. The mind, on the other hand, is very much not.
We get what we pay for folks. Our education, educative practices, teachers, organisations and habits are no different.
If you want to grow then invest in yourself. There’s really no other way.
WAYS TO INVEST (LONG TERM) IN MOVEMENT EDUCATION:
Integrity Through Movement (4-week Introduction & 6-month options)
“The only way out is through” (Robert Frost)
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