Most people have an understanding of compound interest. At the very least it makes sense when purchasing a car or a house. It’s the beastly number followed by a % that makes you’re cute little house go from $180,000 to $5,678,326 after 30 years.  I adore compound interest!!  All life can be related to this theory.

Last night while running, my lovely teammate Kristen – who is the same age as my older daughters so unbeknownst to her, she has been adopted into our family – told me I’m in good shape and asked my secret.  Since she’s a business major I asked her to think about compound interest…..

Be confident.   Embrace who you are.  Love yourself and be positive.  Use compound interest for good things

Food, exercise, friends, relationships, children.  Pick anything.  Compound interest will work for or against you.  If you have friends who are negative, complaining, full of drama, always in a pinch, borrowing your things and not returning them, etc…. It may not seem like a big deal on a daily basis but a little bit over time compounds to make a huge difference.  Food is the same way.  Make good choices or poor choices and no matter what:  a little bit over a long period makes a difference.

One of the few times I won!!!

This is my theory on how I’ve maintained staying in shape.  I’m not generally the fastest, the best, the trophy holder in anything fitness related that I’ve done.  Sure, I’ve won a couple times, but overall I’m not going pro, not elite.  Since I graduated at 17 years old and put on that college 15lbs, I realized that a little bit (in that case bad cafeteria food choices) over a period of time makes a big difference.  The 15 pounds came off and since then I’ve tried to live my life based on compound interest.  A little bit over an extended period really starts to add up.

Getting pregnant, having an unexpected accident or surgery are difficult to bounce back from but with that physical foundation and all my banked years of good health, it’s not quite as hard.  People are obsessed with “cheat days” or “cheat meals” but I know that with all my years of healthy eating, I don’t need to be concerned.  An off day isn’t going to break the bank so to speak.  A poor choice is just that – it’s something you did it does not define who you are.

I’ve tried to minimize if not eliminate people the same way.  I do not like the drama, the chaos, the stress of people in my life who are not positive.  I in no way feel as though I’m better than anyone, however I do feel that I’m at a point in my life where I’ve grown past that and have become intolerant.  I am comfortable enough with myself to have very few great friends who make me want to be better than I am instead of surrounding myself with many people who drag me down and I’ve used this theory for the majority of my life.

Sure, crappy things happen.  You can’t control other people.  Some days suck.  Life gets thrown at you no matter how hard you try to rise above it.  We have emotions.  We make poor choices.  We add to the negative compound interest.  Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you want the compound interest to work for you or against you.  Who do you want to be??  Then start becoming that person.  Not all at once.  But a little bit, every day makes a big difference.