Investing in stocks is never an easy task with plenty of up and downs. It takes an emotional toll at times.
The one thing I have learned over time is that the market opens and the market closes.
Despite the victories or defeats, the sun will always rise in the morning and set in the evening and your family will still love you when you come home.
Poor Outcomes
Investing is a job for some, and a way to grow assets for others.
But many times people become too emotional, and their judgments get cloudy, leading to poor decisions.
It can result in selling a stock at the wrong time, buying a stock without doing your homework, or letting fear dictate your next move.
When you can learn to control your emotions during a rising or falling of the stock market, you can become a reasonable investor.
It is at that point that the feeling in your stomach is not driving your decision.
Never Easy
It surely isn’t easy, and after 25 of investing in the market, I still get that emotional feeling at times.
But today I have learned to control it and realize when my emotions are getting the better of me.
That’s when it is time to turn off the screen, put the phone away, and go for a walk.
Rising Tides
For the most part, 2017 has been a walk in the park, with a market that has been trending in one direction. But the days of volatility will return, they always do.
Remember that investing is very emotional and it is when you learn to control your emotions that you will indeed become capable of becoming a good investor.
Photo Credit: ActiveSteve via Flickr Creative Commons
