Picture yourself on a diving board ten meters high. Your toes curled over the edge, your knees were ready, and the pool below looked like a sky of blue glass. You can’t second-guess now. One jump, and gravity does its thing. Then, bang, the splash. That’s the thrill of diving: each jump is a new equation, and each entry is a new variable. Some divers claim that the hardest part isn’t the twist, but keeping their anxiety in check. They count down and whirl into the air, their hearts racing and their lungs full, trying to cut through the water like a knife through cake. Perfection is an illusion, but the hunt is so exciting. More on Adam McManus Etobicoke

If you change the water droplets to snowflakes, you’re skiing down steep, rocky hills. You can only hear the wind rushing past your ears and the sound of skis cutting new lines. Slalom races are a mix of turns that have been memorized and changes made at the last minute. Every run feels different. Little movements might mean the difference between winning and losing. Skiers work on their muscle memory and balance, but chaos has a say. Ice patches, bumps that come out of nowhere, and visibility that changes faster than a weather program loads. Freestyle is even crazier: you jump off kickers, twist, land in powder, and hope that gravity is in a nice mood. When you see pros throw themselves into the air, you know that skiing is a risky sport with a lot of fun.

Now hurry to the hard court, where tennis is like chess but with lightning bolts for arms. One day, your backhand is on fire; the next, it’s lost in translation. Grunts reverberate, sneakers screech, and the ball flies across the net like a wasp on a mission. When you’re playing against someone, read their body language, guess what they’ll do next, and throw a lob when they expect a smash. These are mind games that can go for minutes. It’s like being in a trance when you see the ball go by. Sometimes the hubbub of the crowd goes away and is replaced by the sound of felt on strings and your own heartbeat.

Let’s take a short detour to the boring yet interesting world of money. The markets are sweating and shaking, and bulls and bears are stuck in a never-ending tango. Prices go up and down quickly, sometimes even before breakfast. Playing the stock market or watching currency rates go up and down is like trying to catch a greased pig: it always gets away. Your portfolio can do a handstand in the blink of an eye. Money travels faster than a baseline rally at Wimbledon. When a new economic data or crazy headline comes out, strategies are written, rewritten, and then shredded.

No matter what you’re doing—sports or stocks—it’s all about guts, brains, and a little bit of luck. A diver gets better at focusing by imagining the perfect splash. A skier laughs about falling and making snow angels. A tennis player finds peace in a matter of seconds. An investor doesn’t care about the days that are red. Whether you tumble, spin, serve, or invest, embracing the ride involves accepting the unexpected turns, even if they make you fall. The stories behind the gold medal are more interesting than any trophy case.