At the end of last year, I wrote about how padel became a sport I truly love. Time on the court is what’s helped me improve, and boy, do I still have a long way to go. But that’s exactly the point. Every time I play, I feel like I make better decisions, better choices based on what I’ve been practicing. You’ve probably heard that it takes thousands of hours to master something. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea, and while people debate the exact number, one thing is hard to argue: the more deliberate your practice and repetition, the better your decisions become when it actually matters.
Think about what that means for an athlete. Every training session, every drill, every match played under pressure is building a library of decisions. So when they step onto the court, the field, or the pitch in the biggest moment of the game, they aren’t guessing. They are executing a process they have rehearsed countless times.
So then why is it that the moment a decision doesn’t go their way, we immediately question it?
Why did they go for that shot? Why did they call that play? What were they thinking?
But ask yourself honestly: would you have had the same reaction if it had worked? If that same shot had landed in, if that pass had been caught, would you even have noticed the decision at all?
Often, we judge the decision by the outcome. And that’s not the same thing. Investing is no different.
A solid financial plan is built the same way an athlete prepares: around goals, time horizons, probabilities, and an appropriate allocation of risk. The process is intentional. But when markets move against you in the short term, the instinct is the same as the fan in the stands. Why did they do that? Was this the wrong decision?
Not necessarily. Sticking to your target allocation when markets are volatile, staying diversified when one asset class is soaring, or choosing not to chase a hot stock — these decisions may not always feel rewarding in the short term, but that discomfort doesn’t make them wrong.
The question to ask isn’t whether it worked. It’s whether the decision was well thought out when it was made, based on the information, probabilities, and long-term goals. That’s how elite athletes think. That’s how sound financial planning works.
I think about this on the court more than I’d like to admit, usually right after a shot I had absolutely no business going for. I’m far from an elite athlete, but what padel is teaching me, slowly, is that the work you put in matters more than any single point you win or lose.
Judge the process, not the scoreboard.
