Weight Lifting and Finance?
What might lifting and finance possibly have in common? Blood, sweat, and tears? Maybe, the fact that we all wish we did it better? In all seriousness, personal finance and weight lifting share a lot of commonalities. I love both of these subjects and as I was reflecting on my gym goals I started seeing similarities to my financial goals.
We All Start Somewhere
Of course, there will be people who are further ahead than you but as with most things they had to start somewhere. They couldn’t pick up the 50s without first learning to pick up the 40s and the 30s and so forth. The same goes for finances. Most people couldn’t save their first $10,000 without first saving their first $1,000. The point is to just start. If you can only lift the 5s or save $5 that is completely fine. If your max is the BAR or you have $100 bucks in the bank just get started.
Little by Little
Peter A Cohen, who has a net worth of 28 million and is the founder of Andover National Corporation said,
“There is no one giant step that does it, it’s a lot of little steps”
Building strength requires patience because it is a process. In order to increase strength, you need to increase your weight or sets. The idea is usually small increases in weight, adding another rep, or maybe doing another set. Building wealth is a similar process. It most likely won’t come overnight but just as with the gym, it will increase as you do it regularly and consistently.
Right Way
When it comes to picking a workout or creating your own, influencers are abundantly telling you the “correct” way. I believe that there is no one right way to work out. New science comes out all the time that challenges what is right and what is wrong. I think it is important to understand the fundamentals but I also think there is room for personal adaptation. This is true for finances as well. Everyone’s situations are unique. Just as with the gym there are certain aspects that are true for everyone, it is also ok to adapt to your preferences. For example, it is generally accepted that everyone needs emergency savings but how much, is more up to the individual. The recommendation is typically 3-6 months of expenses but you can adapt that to what lets you sleep at night.
Finally
In weight lifting when you first start progress is noticeable and gains come easy but after a while, it begins to plateau. Finance may follow a similar pattern. It is exciting to see your accounts grow in the beginning and easy to put aside money but as time goes on the excitement might diminish. Remember that Patience and trust in the process are key ingredients to success. No matter what stage we are at, with consistent efforts, and increasing knowledge, we can all accomplish our goals.