Investing is like swimming: technique, control, and mental strength

Summer is a time when we usually spend more time outdoors.

It’s also a time with longer days, holidays, and when we tend to watch and practice more sports.

With this post, we begin a series of articles drawing analogies between sports and investing.

One of them is swimming. Whether at the beach or in a pool, it’s an accessible activity for many.

Swimming is a quiet, technical, and often solitary sport. It requires precision, patience, and a mind resistant to distractions.

At inbestMe, we believe investing is a lot like swimming well: it’s not about flailing more, but gliding efficiently through the water with control and strategy.

1. Technique is everything = efficiency and clear strategy

In swimming, those with good technique move further with less effort. An efficient stroke is more powerful than a strong but uncontrolled one.

In investing, it’s the same: a clear, low-cost, well-structured strategy helps you move forward with less friction. Less is more… when done right.

2. A solitary sport = financial psychology

Swimming for hours in silence, without external references, requires deep mental control. Swimming, unlike the other disciplines practiced in a triathlon, is, in my opinion, the most boring of all. That is why it requires the most mental discipline to practice. One way to do this is to take advantage of those moments of gliding through the water to clear your mind or, on the contrary, to focus on something that concerns you and try to reach a conclusion.

In investing, it is just as important to have technical knowledge as it is to control our financial psychology. That psychological solitude is also present: you have to resist without euphoria, without panic, without getting carried away by the noise of the market.

Being faithful to your plan is part of success.

3. Breathing control = regular contributions

Breathing technique sets the rhythm and prevents exhaustion. It’s invisible, yet essential. Regular, automatic, and consistent contributions do the same in your portfolio: they stabilize, oxygenate, and keep you moving forward.

Conclusion: move with technique, invest with consistency

Good swimming isn’t about pushing harder, but reducing friction. Successful investing isn’t about predicting markets, but staying the course with discipline. At inbestMe, we help you find your best financial stroke: smooth, balanced, and tailored to you.

Mark Spitz, swimming legend, won 7 gold medals in Munich 1972, all with world records.

He didn’t win with brute force, but through flawless technique, preparation, and execution.

As he said: “I don’t win by being the fastest. I win by making fewer mistakes.”

A philosophy that perfectly fits the indexed, systematic investing approach we offer at inbestMe.