One of the biggest mistakes people make is believing that investing is cold, calculating and analytical.
Ha!
Who hasn’t gotten upset over a trade that went bad? Kicked yourself (figuratively) over a winner that you missed, or a stock you held onto for too long, and lost out on some gains?
You berate yourself, second-guess yourself.
Or how about fear? Anybody out there ever hesitated to hit the “buy” button? Or maybe you were fearful of missing some gains, so you were reluctant to hit the “sell” button?
How about boasting about a trade that went well? Wanting to show your pride in a smart move – but keeping the losing trades to yourself.
And here’s a big one that plays out in market downturns like the one we’re in: A gnawing, nagging anxiety about what the market will do next.
I was just at the World Money Show in Orlando, and I can’t tell you how many people were asking, “How long will this correction last?”
Here’s the answer: Nobody knows. So the question itself is kind of pointless.
I don’t think that’s what people are really asking, though. If they had subtitles running as they spoke, the real words would have been: “Shit, we’re going into another correction. I’m still trying to dig myself out of the last hole. What the $%*& am I gonna do? Will I be able to retire? Will my house continue losing value? Shit, I’m scared! Someone help!”
And that’s all understandable. We all share the fear.
And that’s where I keep thinking of that old saying, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.”
Now, that doesn’t mean keep plowing money into the stock market even as it’s sinking further. Frankly, that’s just dumb, and it’s not what we advocate here.
But it means you should continue doing what the best investors (those who make the most money) do: Watch the market. Track the stocks that are holding up better than the rest.
We’ll keep giving you names to watch, so keep an eye out for those in the coming days.
If you feel fear, acknowledge it. It’s OK to be mad, scared, frustrated – any and all of the emotions that typically go hand-in-hand with stock investing.
But don’t kid yourself that investing is an “intellectual” pursuit. Because that’s the last thing in the world that it is.
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