Lasting Lifestyle Change

ROI: Stop Smoking

03/26/2012

10 Comments

 
Picture
Ever wonder what the true Return on Investment is when someone stops smoking?  If you're a smoker, you won't be motivated to quit by the money alone.  Overall money is a poor motivator for any change.  We adjust to expenditures after an intital resistance to the change.  How many times have you heard  a smoker complain about the cost of cigarettes as they buy another pack?  Thye money alone won't make a difference.

But what many smokers don't recognize is the return on their investment when they finally decide to stop smoking.  I had this point illustrated to me recently when one of my former clients shared some actual figures with me.  

Ron just passed his one year anniversary as a non smoker.  His intial investment for hypnosis to accomplish that goal was $250.

Ron smoked one or one and a half packs per day. At $5.00 per pack, Ron broke even on his investment after his first month as a nonsmoker.  In the past year Ron saved $2700 simply by not buying cigarettes.

Ron went even further.  He's a Financial Planner, so he checked his insurance rates to see if he now qualified for a change in his premiums.  He had a life insurance policy of $250,000 at a monthly premium of $206.  After one year as a non smoker, he qualified for a reduction in his premium to $115 per month.  That would be a savings of $1092 to keep his policy at the same value.  On a whim he asked what doubling his policy to $500,000 would cost now that he is a nonsmoker.  For an increase of $17 per month he doubled his life insurance policy .  That's an anual investment of $204.

So Let's consider the math:  An intial investment of $250 to stop smoking  gave Ron a virtual pay raise of $2700. That year of saving $2700 made him eligible for a $500,000 life insurance policy for an investment of $204. He could have opted to keep his insurance policy the same and saved an additional $1092 for a total savings (or additional income) of $3792.  Was it worth it?  We haven't even touched on his health, the happiness of his wife and family, the pride he feels in his own accomplishment, and the freedom from a destructive habit.  All of these are hard to place a monetary value on.

 If you could invest $250 to get back $3792, would you consider that a good investment? 

Hypnosis works!
10 Comments
 

Goals: Move Forward

01/04/2012

0 Comments

 
Are you ready to make those goals for your New Year?  If you've evaluated what you don't want and listed what you do want, let's make those goals statements!  Before you write down your goals, consider:  your goal has to be personal.  It won't work to write out a vague statement or one that is too broad.  Make your goal statement one that is personal and specific to you and the you you want to become.
A goal has to be an outcome, something that when you've achieved it will leave no doubt in your mind that you have done so. Think about that for a moment:  How will you know that you have acheived your goal?   What will that do for you or how will you be different?  Include that in your goal statement.
And finally, your goal has to be something you can achieve.  Now anything is possible, that's not what I mean.  You can only achieve what you believe is possible.  So do you believe this goal is acheivable?  If not, rewrite it.  Do you believe you deserve it?  If not, set a different goal, one that involves changing your sense of worthiness.  I know you deserve whatever you dream of, but do you?  Sometimes you'll need a smaller goal at first until you train your brain to accept even greater possibilities. Don't give up on your goal, just understand that there may be stair steps to get to it.
So now, write your goals down.  Make them personal and specific, measurable, and achievable.  Once you've got them on paper, write several copies and put them everywhere: your bathroom mirror, your nightstand, the dash of your car, the door of the refirgerator, the screen of your computer, in your daily planner.  Post them anywhere you spend more than a few minutes.  You want your brain to see them them multiple times a day.  Once you start reading them several times a day, your brain  naturally begins to look for ways to achieve them.  And your beliefs begin to align with your desired goal. 
That's it!  You've done it: Awesome goals for your New Year!  Go For It!
Add Comment
 

Goals: Moving Away From

12/30/2011

0 Comments

 
It's that time of year when we look back on where we've been.  We measure our own progress towards the goals we want to achieve.  Or maybe we didn't have a goal, or it was too vague to measure.  We just know that we want to make some change in the coming months or year.  Part of this process is looking at what we don't want.  What are you movig away from?  Do you want to lose weight this year?  Why?  What don't you like about your current weight?  Do you want to stop smoking this year?  Why?  What is it that smoking has done to your health?  Maybe it's another life change that you want to make: a healthy relationship, more satisfying work, to fulfill adream.  No matter.  As you look back at the past year what is it that you want to let go of?  To truly move forward with a goal, we must know where we've been and what we want to move away from.  Only then can we begin to form a clear picture of what we want to create in our future.  What we truly want for ourselves.  When we know what we don't want it is easier to define what we do want.  The list of negatives can easily be transferred to a list of positives.  By defining what hasn't worked for you you can eliminate many distractions.  You can focus on the path that leads you to success.
Add Comment