Going for gold or personal best? Lessons from Tokyo 2020

A year late and no crowds, but this year’s Tokyo Olympics were as compelling as ever.

Among the agony and ecstasy, dramatic finishes, and gold medals against the odds, I was actually quite taken with the story of Slovakian kayaker Jakub Grigar. 

A silver medallist at 24, he’s already thinking of his future post-Olympics, buying a coffee shop in his hometown as a retirement plan. Quite forward-thinking for a profession where most of his peers will be leaving sporting life in their late 20s or early 30s, with no obvious source of income to count on.

Gold, silver, or bronze. What makes success?

Now, with the games over and the Olympic flame extinguished, it’s got me thinking a lot about how exactly we define success.

And I don’t think it’s just about the winning. 

One GB boxer was so disappointed he’d missed out on gold, he couldn’t bear to wear his silver medal on the podium. But there were 11,000 athletes in Tokyo this year, for some of them, just being there was a victory. 

Personally, one of my moments of the games was Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo and her exuberant kiganda dance when she finished fourth in her heat to reach the 1500m final. This summed up the Olympic spirit to me: “the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

Nanyondo went on to finish seventh in the final and recorded a season’s best. Success for her and many of her fellow athletes is going further or faster than they’ve ever done before. 

So how can we apply this to our own lives?

Achieving your personal best

Sporting analogies can be overused, but I think this spirit of ‘fighting well’ is especially relevant when it comes to making financial plans. 

Because, working out your life goals, living that life, achieving what you set out to do. That’s success.

One of the first things we do for you as financial planners, is clarify what your goals are. Are you dreaming of foreign travel when you retire? Is your aim to leave a legacy for your children or grandchildren? Will you want to drawdown a lump sum early on, or opt for a life annuity?

I’ve mentioned before about helpful research from Which? on how much you should aim to save for retirement. This sets a ‘comfortable’ retirement at around £26,000 per year, while a ‘luxurious’ option, including long-haul and European travel, gym membership and other extras, will cost around £41,000.

Yes, it’s useful to look at these headline figures, as a way of setting yourself a benchmark, but it’s also important to remember that no financial plan is the same.

So, what’s your starting point and what does your ideal retirement scenario – your personal best – look like? If we can get that right, we can make a plan and try to hit that target. 

Focus on your own lane

Just like those athletes heading to Tokyo, it’s important to keep your goals in mind and ignore the distractions that could throw you off course. 

I was amazed to discover that until this year, gymnast Max Whitlock, a gold medallist in Tokyo, had never watched a pommel horse final. He didn’t want to ruin his focus by watching his rivals (this year, he went first, so could watch safe in the knowledge he’d already done all he could).

It’s the same story when following our financial goals. Focus on your life and plans, and don’t get side-tracked by thinking too much on what others – neighbours, work colleagues, or golf buddies – are up to. 

For me, that’s why having a financial planner is essential. We can provide you with a bespoke plan, designed for what you need, and help you stick to it. As opposed to relying on something off-the-shelf.

Of course, keeping focused doesn’t mean being unwilling to change. As I’ve said before, it’s important to keep your financial plans flexible. However, it does mean sticking to your own path.

Think like an athlete. If you copy somebody else’s race tactics or training methods, it might work. 

But then again, you might find yourself running off in the wrong direction!