As a whitewater slalom racer and whitewater kayaking enthusiast, for decades I’ve taken the stance that there’s a lot of fun to be had on your local class II/III river. Despite the adrenaline junkies’ attitude that bigger is better, you can build great skills on smaller rivers, without having to go to the danger levels presented by class IV or V whitewater. Or as I’ve always said:

Slalom – doing Class V moves with Class III consequences.

Tina

I’m not the only one who thinks so. Here’s a kayaker who self-describes as someone “who kayaks class 5 rivers, climb 5.10c, skis double diamonds”, about the value of building your skills when the consequences are low:

Pros on what they wish they’d known sooner:
“That it is better to go to a familiar run and make it difficult rather than stepping up to a harder river. It is a much better learning environment to push yourself on easier whitewater (catching all the eddies, surfing, boofing, etc.), basically making a class II or III run have class IV or V moves. That way when you step up to a harder river you are less physically and mentally challenged and much safer because you have built up your foundation.”

Sage Donnelly, https://paddlingmag.com/stories/columns/the-list/what-whitewater-pros-wish-theyd-known-sooner/

What does that have to do with personal finance?

A couple of things.

You will naturally build your emotional and mental muscles, when addressing the challenges of self control and diligence to build your emergency fund, and to build your investments. Your investments will grow slowly, allowing you to adjust to the feeling of the roller coaster that happens with market surges and drops.

You simply feel more in control when the big stuff happens, because you have experience regularly navigating the lesser cousins, giving you a sense of familiarity. Plus you’ve got the actual greater resources to draw from, in the form of the larger financial cushion you’ve built, and insurance you know is there for you.

So focus on the beautiful local river you’ve got in your backyard, use it to do hard things, enjoy the lower consequences, and be more powerful and prepared when life drops you into that Class V canyon.