adora

1) Avoid accusation.
2) Indicate the problem as Social Norm.

Ross

One psychological principle would be the reverse halo effect if the article was written with “you” instead of “your friends” people take the one negative thing in their own lives and classify themselves as a “bad person”. Also an individual may think that other parties will classify them this way this third party finds out some trait or skill the individual is lacking.

The other would be the psychological principle of projection. It is easier for most individual to project their problems onto another person (even sometimes imaginary) rather than going through the process of introspection. Projection separates the person from their problem, but does not disassociate them completely. On the other hand it takes a mentally stronger person to be able to discover their faults through introspection.

Ken

Theories are in *’s.

Firstly, positioning the title like this prevents *cognitive dissonance* within the individual. By insinuating that the reader performs an action that defies their own personality or logic, this cognitive dissonance could cause negative emotional feelings in the reader. By directing the idea at someone else, the reader is able to take in the information and utilize it while avoiding having to actually “confront” their misplaced behaviour.

The second theory this plays on would be *actor-observer effect*. If the reader were thinking this article referred to their own inability to invest/exercise/etc. properly, they would simply dismiss the argument to external factors (ie. “Oh, I just don’t have time right now because of work. Next week I’ll be back on the treadmill”). By viewing it as people other than themselves, they instead focus on the internal motivations behind the lack of action, and are less likely to dismiss the arguments.

Alex R

Sounds a bit like the Fundamental Attribution Error. Or in the words of the late George Carlin “Why is it that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff?”

Dean J

“They also don’t like to attend personal-finance events because they don’t like to feel bad about themselves.”

That’s *amazingly* arrogant.

I’d guess two reasons that don’t seem to get airplay.
1. They care less than you do about the event, which isn’t unreasonable.
2. They don’t trust the advice of folks who do seminars, which isn’t unreasonable.

Wow, did your post come across as being a dick.

Julie

I found this article very helpful! I’ve been meaning to carve a new design out of wax but my barrier is that the wax is so hard it’s a pain to cut. You just gave my the motivation to do it. I’m sorry that people have to feel so threatened by a new set of ideas. I am glad you put yourself out there.

Danielle

This article sparked a good discussion with my husband, so thanks!

I will start to think about the goals I want to reach in terms of what barriers are in my way!

Weekend Link Roundup

[...] Why your friends don’t save money, eat healthier, or clean their garages, from I Will Teach You To Be Rich – This post appeared on Get Rich Slowly, but was written by Ramit at I Will Teach You To Be Rich. I really enjoyed this article and found it very motivating to take action on removing some barriers to success in my life. [...]