Money Smart Athlete Blog

The Money Smart Athlete’s Goal Setting

Dec 27, 2017 | Financial Psychology

You must agree that being able to afford your dream life is an incredible feeling. Imagine having plenty of free time to live life on your terms and at the same time being able to help the people who are important to you. Goals define the action you must take in order to make your dreams real. Setting goals and priorities, and then following through with active plans to make them happen, is the essential process for turning dreams into reality.

The process of setting and achieving financial goals is very similar to the experience of an athlete setting an athletic goal. And if you choose to work with a professional financial advisor to create your financial plan, you are creating a relationship similar to an athlete working with a coach.

It is important to start the process by identifying your goals, which must be directly connected and in line with what is most important to you and what exactly you want out of life. Discuss your goals with your advisor and set dates for their achievement. You advisor will then help you quantify these goals and help you build a plan around them. Your ultimate goals are not going to be achieved overnight so you will have to set intermediate goals with events and dates that will help you stay focused and enjoy small victories on your way to their achievement. Intermediate goals also provide a measure to check whether your plan is working or needs adjustments.

Athletes choose to work with a coach that can advise them on their training routine, diet or their lifestyle. Coaches are usually people with a background and experience in the area of sports and have knowledge that can help the athlete move forward. Most importantly they hold athletes accountable, by reviewing their performance, keeping them on track and reminding them what their goal is and what it takes to achieve it. Working with a financial advisor follows the same logic. He or she is there to help you stay accountable to your plan and to provide you with an honest and objective assessment, so you will have to choose an advisor who you feel can understand your goals and has helped other people achieve similar goals.

It’s relatively easy to assess our current situation and also figure out where we want to be. The toughest part is what happens in between, the actual work to get there. Successful athletes are not always those who work the hardest or the longest but those who work the smartest. Investors in the same way should make smart and efficient financial decisions. Your advisor will help you make the right adjustments to keep you on the way to reach your goals.

An athlete should maintain balance in his training, resting time and diet with the help of his coach. Your advisor will help you maintain balance in the factors that affect your plan, the amount of money you save, the time you have available and your risk.

The process of setting and working towards achieving your financial goals doesn’t need to be perfect. The path to success won’t be straight, but you will need to achieve intermediate goals and correct your course along the way. Your goal should be constant progress following the steps we recommended above: identifying your goals, choosing an advisor that suits you, making smart decisions and maintaining balance to reach success.

For assistance in transforming your dreams into achievable goals send us an email at [email protected]

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