01 Aug 2024 The Hidden Cost of Expectations
The Olympics have returned once again with excitement and intrigue. There are plenty of fun storylines to follow: Simone Biles returning, Katie Ledecky going for history, the US Men’s Gymnastics team going for their first team medal since 2008, or even just the thought of Olympians actually swimming in the Seine River (‘it didn’t taste great’ they said). Everywhere you look there is something interesting happening or some competition to enjoy.
As I watched one of the recent swimming competitions, the men’s 400m freestyle final, I was struck by something that happened at the end of the race. Lukas Maertens (of Germany) won the gold medal in that event. He did something that less than 25 people in human history have accomplished, and as he finished his race, you could tell he was disappointed. He was disappointed because he wanted the world record and came up just short.
This is not a unique occurrence at the Olympics. Time after time Olympians do something that few have done in human history, and yet, end up disappointed because their expectations were even higher. There is certainly an argument to be made that this level of drive and dedication is how they got themselves to the level they are at. I do agree with that to a degree, but I also think that there is a price of expectations that is paid by disappointment time and time again.
It is easy to see how someone being disappointed after a gold medal is strange, but I think in each of our financial lives we are prone to similar thoughts. We imagine the house we will live in or the car we will drive or the trips we will go on and then are disappointed when each of those things is merely good instead of best of the best. We expect life to look a certain way a few years from now and then are sad when it isn’t exactly what we envisioned.
Like I mentioned previously, setting high expectations can be great for motivation. However, we need to be careful at setting expectations at a certain level where the only way we will be happy is if they are met. It is good to be motivated, but we also need to be content with the place we are at knowing that we can’t change our past decisions that got us to the present point. There will always be someone with a bigger house, a bigger salary, or a better vacation to compare ourselves to.
The swimming commentator touches on this idea of unrealistic expectations when seeing disappointment on the face of Lukas, goes on to say, “this is the only place on earth where you forget about the clock. That’s an Olympic gold medal. That world record, if he broke it, would be broken one day. It’s gonna be taken away from him. That gold medal, forever and ever, he will have that.”
Let’s set financial goals that will motivate us to work hard and have something to strive for, but let’s also not find our complete happiness in a financial goal that may be different in the end. Expectations have a hidden cost, and it is often paid in disappointment compared to what we think we should have. Be satisfied with the gold medals of your financial life and let the world record be your next driving force.
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