Here’s something to think about today if you are struggling to get motivated to take action and get the weight off: you can actually end up making more money by losing weight! “What are you talking about?” you’re asking now, right? Well, it’s really quite simple: weight loss = higher self-esteem = higher self-confidence = higher productivity and a higher desire to achieve, since you have more confidence that you can achieve. That’s a high return on weight loss, isn’t it? 😉
The negative impact that overweight can have on your life can truly infiltrate so many different areas of your life. If you don’t feel good about yourself because you are overweight, how do you completely separate that feeling from the other parts of your life?
No matter what area of your life you look at (work, relationships, money, family, etc.), you take your body with you. If the feelings you have about your body are negative, you are carrying those negative feelings with you, wherever you may go.
When you focus on the topic of work and money, if you have an overall feeling of negativity and low self-esteem about yourself, then why would you aspire to make more money? You wouldn’t feel like you deserve it, much less have the self-confidence to achieve it.
I was inspired to write about this today after reading about a study in USA Today by Timothy Judge (the lead author of the study) that was conducted between 1979 and 1993 on approximately 7,000 people aged 14 – 22. In 2002, the same people were followed up with when they were aged 37 – 45.
The study found that those who held a higher opinion of themselves when younger “earned more [money] in middle age than those with less confidence”. I think that this study is very telling about how your level of self-esteem can affect your quality of life, not only in the material sense, but also in all areas, even though the focus of the study was on money and earning potential.
A very important point that I would like to stress to you, is that I do not believe that it is ever too late, no matter what age you are right now. You can still increase your quality of life and level of self-esteem if you are past your teens and early 20’s. The reason I wish to stress this is because this particular study was done on youths and later followed up when they were older, instead of focusing on a group of people (regardless of age), who were working on raising their level of self-esteem, and then following up years later.
If you are motivated by money, I hope that this information serves to help you either get motivated, or stay motivated to lose weight. Even if money is not a motivator for you, feeling good about yourself is essential for success in any area of your life, so if you will feel better about you by losing weight, then by all means, use this as your motivation!
You also get a lot more energy when you lose weight which helps to get things done too 😀
Hi Cyan,
Thanks for your comment, that is very true! 🙂
JoLynn – this is brilliant. I have been making less money since I put on weight and now I understand why.
Hi Catherine,
Thank you very much! It is so true, how much our weight affects our self-image, which then spills over into other areas of our life. Anything we can do to raise our confidence and self-esteem (as long as it’s healthy 😉 ) can then cause such a positive ripple into the rest of your life…including finances!
I definitely agree that increased confidence can lead to improvements in all aspects of our lives including the financial aspect.Sure, if you look good,you feel good and this puts you in a productive state of mind.
Hi Florentina,
Right, that confidence boost from feeling great physically positively affects everything in your life. 😉
I agree that losing weight can make a big difference in not just making more money, but in every aspect of your life. I lost 40 lbs. this last year, and I am a lot more self confident, energetic, and love myself a lot more. Now I can hold my head up high and have really good posture. I look and feel about 15 years younger!
Having lost 40 pounds over the summer, I noticed a great increase in my energy level. I think it should be added that eating right and exercise is a huge key to your over all activity level. Eating a low fat breakfast and 30+ minutes of exercise will boost your energy level the rest of the day. It’s funny how energized you get from a quick workout.
@Sharon, congratulations on dropping 40 pounds! You’re right that the better you feel about yourself (in this case through weight loss), that it does affect every area of your life… and in relation to my article, it can positively affect your income!
@Adrian, wow, two people in a row who lost 40 pounds recently, congratulations to you, too! Have you noticed how this has affected your income (?), I hope in a positive way! 😉