Larry Wilson, a sales trainer and student of the behavioral sciences, said that the primary reason anyone buys anything is in anticipation of how it will make them feel. Since we all want to feel good about ourselves, we buy (or do) things that will give us those (anticipated) good feelings.
The only problem is sometimes the purchase (or action) doesn’t produce the anticipated good feelings. Has that ever happened to you? I remember that happening to me when I bought my first single lens reflex camera. I was in the Marine Corps stationed in Japan, and even though the cameras cost only about 50% of what they did in the States, the military pay scale being what it was, I had to save for several months to buy one. I was initially excited, but within a day or two I remember thinking, what am I going to do with this sophisticated piece of equipment? The thrill was gone.
Those instances though, I believe, are in the minority. In most cases, our purchase makes us feel good for a much longer period than a day or two. Well, except for investments. A bear market can make you feel lousy for a long time.
It stands to reason that buying life insurance on ourselves should give us those good feelings, because we buy it primarily for the benefit of other people. But if that’s really the case, why are so many people underinsured? Could it be that we’re not as altruistic as we believe?
It is my opinion that it has to do with death itself. It’s just very uncomfortable contemplating our own demise. Sure, intellectually we understand that our stay on this planet will end. But considering it from an emotional standpoint is an entirely different matter.
So on the one hand we want to buy and do things that will make us feel good about ourselves, which the purchase of life insurance almost certainly would do. But on the other hand, we have to endure some mental anguish to get those good feelings.
That is not unlike many of the goals we set for ourselves. To finish a marathon, we have to endure the pain not only of training, but of the race itself, in order to experience the feeling of exhilaration that accompanies crossing the finish line.
Malcolm X said "So over you is the greatest enemy a man can have and that is fear." Don’t let fear compromise your loved ones future. Face the fear and review your life insurance program. That will make you feel good about yourself. For as Emerson said, “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.”