Optimizing anything means sacrificing many other things. Optimizing performance as an athlete or in your career might mean sacrificing quality of life when you get older, longevity, time with friends and family and more.

Some of the BMX freestyle athletes I admired when I was younger sacrificed their bodies for the love of the sport. Fighting to be the best meant pushing the limits and crashing a lot. Long-term brain damage might even have led one to take his own life. Back then, most of us probably thought you were safe with a helmet. I wonder whether top athletes would have made the same choices if they had known their lives might be cut so short.

I selected my major in college based on what I thought would pay well, then got a job in Boston because it paid well. I did enjoy my work for most of my first career, but eventually I realized it was no longer fulfilling – optimizing for income has its limits. Luckily, I had not sacrificed so much that I have regrets. I managed to balance things well enough that I have good relationships with friends and family. Although my health declined for a while, gaining 40 pounds over 10+ years was enough of a wakeup call to sort that out before it was too late.

Think about the repercussions of what you are giving up and where you might end up in 10 or 20 years or at retirement. Will you make a different choice now, while you still have time?