My family and I were watching a home improvement show recently. Like most of these shows, the designer had grand ideas on how to make a particular house better by way of paint, new furniture and the removal of walls and kitchen cabinets. The amount of work that had to be done was staggering, with a real world price tag that would far exceed what was shared on the show. Through the miracle of TV, the crew not only completed the work, they came in under budget.
These shows are fun to watch as entertainment as long as you keep one thing in mind: they’re selling a fantasy. It’s not real life.
We constantly find ourselves getting wrapped up in a fantasy world. You may find yourself saying, “If only I drove a luxury car, I could look exactly like the beautiful man or woman shown in the commercial, staring off into the distance with a piercing and all knowing stare. How successful they appear to be.” Reality is more sobering. The feeling of euphoria driving your dream car will soon be replaced with despair at the debt load you’re now carrying.
It’s not only luury items that pull us into this fantasy world. A recent trend of celebrities on Ozempic or other weight loss drugs has resulted in what can only be described as walking skeletons. The body positivity movement has been replaced with fake lips, pushed up cheek bones and a steady diet of beef broth and nothing else. Being healthy is one thing. Taking drugs to stay bone thin and gaunt is another thing entirely.
We’re constantly being pushed to look or act like something other than who we were meant to be. It’s an odd mix of fast food commercials followed by weight loss drugs and another cocktail of drugs to take once we reach a certain age. It’s difficult to block out the noise and stay vigilant, which explains why Americans are overweight and depressed. Viewing these stimulants for what they are, fantasies and not the real world, helps you avoid falling down a rabbit hole of disappointment and self loathing.
Personally, I’ve struggled with body dysmorphia my whole life. Oddly enough, it’s hardly ever my height (5’7”) that’s the issue. Without providing a full record of my mental state, there are other things that have crept into my head and offered judgement on one thing or another. I assume this is fairly normal. Given all that we’re bombarded with on a daily basis on how we should look or feel, the road to self loathing is a pretty easy one to travel down. The good news is, snapping out of it can be just as easy.
Similar to the home improvement show example above, the cost to debt freedom, wealth and overall health is going to be harder than what you’re absorbing in one hour of HGTV. The TV show you’re watching isn’t reality. How celebrities live on a daily basis isn’t reality either.
An ad showing a group of friends in their twenties on the way to the beach having the time of their lives while driving a $110K Cadillac Escalade is possible but statistically unlikely. These images rot our brain and make us feel inadequate. In reality, we may be perfectly positioned to succeed in the long term following our current path. Understanding this and staying the course will result in financial and health gains you only dreamed were possible.
What was once a fantasy filled with rainbows and unicorns will be replaced with something far better.
Reality.
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