As far as achievements go, Tara Dower’s speed run of the Appalachian Trail surely takes some beating.
The professional ultrarunner completed the 2,200 miles from Maine to Georgia in just 40 days and 18 hours, beating the previous fastest known time by 13 hours. The path usually takes between five and seven months (and only one in four of the thousands who attempt it every year are successful).
It’s an extraordinary demonstration of endurance and perseverance. Her efforts are also helpful when we think about the benefits of setting and achieving our goals.
A lesson from adversity
Dower’s first ‘thru-hike’ attempt of the trail was back in 2017. She was forced to abandon it just eight days after an anxiety attack.
This failure spurred her on. Not only did she come back and complete that route two years later, she then took on many long-distance courses, including this latest record-breaking trail run.
One important factor in how she achieved this was by changing her perspective on how she set goals. Setting smaller benchmark goals helped her to stop feeling overwhelmed by the much bigger one – and helped her achieve more.
You can do this too. Setting what are sometimes called ‘subgoals’ is a useful strategy for completing large work projects, learning a language (apps like Duolingo encourage us to complete bite-size lessons every day) and getting to grips with your finances.
So how can you put subgoals to good use when thinking about retirement?
Preparing for the moment when you finish work for good can be particularly overwhelming.
Years, or even decades off, retirement can feel quite distant and out of reach. You’ve no idea of the exact period you’re saving for, so putting your finger on exactly how much is ‘enough’ to match your current lifestyle can be tricky.
Financial planning starts with setting goals. And while that big one – retirement – might seem daunting, it’s much less so when you break it down into more manageable chunks.
So, what could your retirement subgoals look like?
Perhaps you want to wind down rather than fully stop all at once. Planning your retirement in stages, and what you hope to achieve career wise can help you see things more clearly.
Is a nest egg for your children, for university or a deposit on a first home, part of your plan? Saving regularly into a junior ISA or setting up a separate trust or investment fund helps separate this goal out and make it seem more reachable.
Breaking down into subgoals also helps keep your goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.) For example, a keen focus on the schedule of actions you need to perform – not just the deadline, helps you to stick to your goals.
Little and often
Breaking savings targets down into smaller pieces can also be motivating. Instead of thinking about that final amount, focusing on how much you set aside each year – or each month – will make the target seem less frightening.
As this report in the Scientific American discusses, research from behavioural scientists Hal Hershfield and Shlomo Benartzi at the University of California and Steven Shu from Cornell University, showed that people were four more times more likely to sign up for a savings programme when it required a deposit of US$5 per day, as opposed to US$150 per month. The study suggested it was it less painful to make frequent but small payments rather than a larger lump sum.
And remember, with the benefit of compound interest, the longer you save for, the greater potential your pot has to accrue interest. So, while a small payment each month might only seem like a drop in the ocean. In the long run, it’s a lot more significant.
Make sure you’ve got the right back-up team
Tara Dower’s mammoth achievement has another important lesson too. Tackling something of this magnitude isn’t something you take on alone.
Her back-up team (including her mum, friends and several volunteers) fed her, paced her through different sections and kept her motivated. In fact, she estimates she was only running solo for around 20% of the journey. When she’d completed her record-breaking run, she acknowledged “Without the crew I would not have done it.”
Financial planning is the same. The right team behind you will let you know what the best strategies are for investing in your future, advise you on the right products to ensure your savings are tax efficient, and help you create a plan that you can stick to.
Above all, having the right support in place makes the whole financial journey less daunting and keeps you motivated to achieve your goals.
