Success is All About Choices
The fact is, it’s all about choices.
The man could have ordered food for each meal not paying attention to this caloric or nutritional intake, and the outcome would not have been the same. He made wise choices with the opportunities he had for meal choices (even if they were artificially restricted).
Your financial well-being is also greatly affected by your choices.
A person with a given income can choose to live in a reasonably priced home, drive a used but reliable car for years, and cook most of his meals at home. He has no problem paying his bills each month, and even stuffs away money for retirement.
Or, that same person could buy as big of a house the bank will allow him to finance, purchase a brand new vehicle every few years, and dine out at expensive restaurants frequently. He always seems to be broke, has trouble making ends meet and doesn’t have anything saved for the future.
We all make choices each and every day that affect our finances. We can make poor choices that leave us struggling to make ends meet. Or, we can make choices that help us move along the path of achieving our goals much like the science teacher that lost 37 pounds eating nothing but McDonalds.
Choose wisely.
Are you making the best financial decisions with the opportunities given to you? What is an example of a good choice you made recently?
Brought to you courtesy of Brock
Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.
I have to tell you, your blog is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love that you end every post with a question. While I may not always have an answer (ha! – I always have an answer, for everything!) it always makes me think. Also, you are very good at self-editing. I am appalled at how much content is put out there seemingly un-proofed.
The most recent good choice I’ve made is regarding our food, and food budget. While we eat 99% organic, setting a spending limit helps us to make affordable choices while still eating healthy. Also, I choose to make a great deal from scratch in order to provide enough food within that budget.
I’d heard at a high level about that guy, but none of the headlines indicated that he had limited his calories to 2,000 per day. I guess that makes a little more sense. I still think he could have other issues with cholesterol, blood sugar, or otherwise that could make it a less than favorable health option, but I think he was strictly trying to make a point about weight.
@Cathie – Thanks SO MUCH, you totally made my day. 🙂 I don’t claim to be perfect, but my writing process does include rereading my post until I no longer find something I want to change. I take a lot of pride in my work. Tell your friends about Cleverdude, LOL.
Good thoughts on your food budget – it’s an easy area that a family can totally blow their budget….OR save a ton of money. Sounds like you’re in the later category. My wife and I have worked tirelessly for the last 2 years to really get a good grip on our food budget while still providing great food options for our family.
Have a GREAT week!!!
@Money Beagle – Actually, in reading about this story from several different news outlets he actually improved his health numbers in all categories including decreasing his total as well as the “bad” cholesterol levels. It really is all about choices – even at a fast food place!
You are so right. I was actually thinking about this the other day. I was having a super lazy day at the gym. But, you know, I was proud of myself because I actually got there. I realized that will only get me so far.
No one is going to come yell at me in the pool and tell me to swim so it’s actually a work out and not just some lazy laps back and forth… just like everything else in life. I’m responsible for the choices I make and I have to live with the outcomes… and for the most part, the rest of the world doesn’t really care about how my life turns out because of my good or bad choices.
@Mel – I read an article recently regarding why we shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks about us. It gave some crazy estimate as to how many thoughts a person has in a day, and then said that if someone thought of you 10 times a day it would be some astronomically low percentage of their thoughts. The lesson was, other people spend almost zero effort thinking of you – so why in the world do we spend so much time trying to put up appearances for others? We shouldn’t make our choices based upon how we think others will view it, we should make our choices 100% based upon what is best for us! Thanks for stopping by, Mel!
@IncreaseCreditLimit – that’s a fair question, I have to admit I wonder the same thing. Although I think I would rather explain to someone that I choose to spend my money differently than to just say I can’t afford it. 🙂 Thanks for your thoughts!
We make dozens of choices each day, and every choice has a consequence, whether it’s a good or a bad one! I think we learn from our mistakes, which are usually just the choices that we made that aren’t the right ones.
I have been trying to make good choices with my health, wealth, and relationships. Sometimes it’s hard to figure it out, though.
@Daisy – As you mentioned, we learn from our mistakes…and as we move through life our success is dependent upon us making more of the right turns than wrong. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!