Expect to Fall Off the Beam

My daughter competed in a USA Gymnastics state meet this weekend. The girls were judged on many elements. It caused me to ponder a possible analogy to the way people manage their money.

A lot of folks approach money with trepidation. They feel like there is a right way to perform, which eliminates errors. Some assume that this ideal routine can be learned or adopted from someone else. In reality, everybody makes mistakes in their financial lives.

Your relationship with money should not feel like the challenge of an Olympic all-around event. It should feel more like continuous practice where you’re learning what works for you, which approaches fit best with your needs and emotions, and what makes you feel good about the outcomes. The great gymnasts I’ve watched are focused but enjoy practice. They try new skills. They stand back up when they fall.

Every gymnast wobbles, flails their arms, and then comes off the beam. We all overshoot and step out of bounds occasionally. Everyone has awkward landings. The difference between a stressed relationship with money and a peaceful one is not finding perfection; it’s about paying attention and adjusting to events in one’s life and the world. Most importantly, it is about recognizing one’s own emotions. Do you panic and react emotionally? Do you freeze? Or do you just reset and get back on the beam?

Managing money is not something you just do once. It is ongoing. A lot of people are missing energy when they think about managing their money. They might equate play with recklessness. Discipline does not have to mean austerity. Responsibility does not have to create stress. If managing your money feels tense or tiring, it may be a sign you’ve been trying to fit your needs into someone else’s routine. The athletes who look relaxed are the ones who have built strong fundamentals based around their own abilities.

On my daughter’s team, no one is equally obsessed with every event. Our relationship with money can work in the same way. We cannot optimize everything. You may love travel, dining out, an expensive hobby, or philanthropic giving. But, as Warren Buffett said, you can do anything but not everything. Confidence can build when you focus on putting money into what you need in your life and stop spending on what is superfluous to you.

Your best financial life may not necessarily be about spending more. But it should be about spending purposefully. Focusing your spending on what you love means you can stop wasting time, energy, and money on what you care about less.

A healthy financial life should allow for flexibility. It evolves as your season of life shifts. Financial dreams when we are young often start with a ‘what’ but evolve to a ‘who’.  Who can I visit? Who can I take with me? Who do I want to be able to spend more time with? I hope you enjoy the practice.

Aaron Jeffries