The Power of Purchasing
Recently, in an effort to break my running performance plateau, I've enlisted the services of a trainer. So far I've had two sessions, and both sessions have left me non-functional. After my first upper body session I was so sore I couldn't touch my head with my own hands. After my lower body session, I couldn't run for two days and was walking kind of funny.
I observe the following: If I had merely started lifting weights on my own and had these outcomes, I and everyone around me, would have concluded that I had overdone it, or done it wrong. However by virtue of having paid for the privilege, I've earned some sort of dispensation to be injured by this.
I think there are other instances where this happens too... like skydiving. If you just jumped out of a plane, people would say you were nuts. If you pay to jump out of a plane, somehow that's better.