Fear … Outside of an individual’s specific moment, this emotion is abstract, or at least folks discuss it in the abstract. When one reads or hears that fear can cause you to make bad decisions, one can easily understand the concept intellectually. Now, when fear is concrete, one does not need words to understand it; one feels it, intuitively understanding what is happening. Now, here is the weird part – fear unto itself is natural, good, and an important part of surviving in a world focused on survival, in a world where someone’s loss is someone else’s gain.
Yes, fear is good because it is our natural warning system, a premonition or feeling, if you will. It is the surest sign that what we are doing, or what we are about to do, might not be the “right” thing to do. Yes, our fear can save us from bad decisions, if we “listen” to it when it speaks to us. The way we make fear work for us rather than against us is to understand the feeling, to understand that when that “voice” is speaking to us, it is simply telling us to focus, to widen our view, to be prepared to act differently or, if necessary, quickly and surely.
Often, though, we don’t listen to the voice. We ignore it and do what we intended to do anyway. At other times, because the feeling is so “present,” we panic, which causes us to act prematurely without all the information we need to make a truly calculated decision. Both are bad, but of the two, the former suggests that what our mothers told us as children is right – you know better.
Each day I sit down to write this column, my sensibilities are tested, and most days, that test comes out 99.9% on the side of “right.” Yet other days, as the words flow onto the screen, I feel that “early warning,” that voice telling me “you know better.” As of late, that voice has spoken to me quite a bit as I have written about the politics affecting our economy. Most days, I have listened, but some days I have not. I have ignored the voice.
I have written in this column that “politics” stops at the water’s edge when it comes to my money. This simply means my “ideology” is that all politicians should always work in the best interest of the American economy, which, ultimately, is good for the market. I mean this, but sometimes, my “fear” about what might happen to my money, and my sense of responsibility to those who read this column (even if it is only one person) clouds my judgment.
This past weekend, we had rain, which is odd for this time of year, which is neither here or there, I guess. Anyway, because of the rain, I had more “down” time than usual, so my world went from physical chores to, well, mental gyrations. One of the thoughts tumbling around in my head was that this column is not political, and I let it get that way, at least a little. The comments I posted and responded to on Friday are the obvious example of this. So, if anyone thought I was taking my “voice” in a new direction, rest assured, I am not. I am back standing at the water’s edge, focused clearly on writing about how to survive and thrive in the trading/investment world.
Trade in the day; invest in your life.
Trade Ed
