Things in common between finance and sports, understand

Personal finance has a lot in common with fitness or sports. Both require discipline to follow a plan, whether training or financial.

Another trait that athletes share with fit people: perseverance. You might not always get it right, but you still need to show up the next day, even when you slip up.

The financial equivalent could be going over budget, not earning or spending as planned. You need to persevere and say, “Okay, I messed up, but now I have to get back on track.”

The money is in the money
When Williams was heading to college, she wasn't 100% clear about her goals. But she thought about which courses could result in higher earnings.

“To be honest, at 17, I didn't really know what the gains were from, for example, basket weaving versus finance,” she said. “I just knew that finance was something that had a little more prestige and I chose finance.

“I like math and I like money, so I thought, ‘Ah, finance, this thing that brings the two together,'” Williams said.

Hashtag: someone else's goals
Social media concept, Asian woman uses mobile phone to check social networking app with Like, Love, Comment, People and Favorite icons on desktop next to coffee shop glass.

Photographer is my life.

Read more: How to get a Personal Loan with HSBC?

Social messages play an important role in everyday life events, says Williams. Messages like “I just bought my first house”, accompanied by the hashtag #firstTimeHomebuyers, convey the idea that everyone should do this, want this – even when that’s not someone’s goal.

Ask yourself if society is telling you that you need to do certain things. “Passive income is the new hot thing, just like real estate,” Williams said. “There are all these platitudes about what people think are the things they need to do, but they may not have any interest.”

This is why personal finance can resemble sports in terms of discipline, in matters of organization and in having a rule in all related matters. That's why we must use the example of sports to apply to the financial world, and that's why we can see so many similarities between the two worlds that will help you regulate yourself.