Photo by Krissia Cruz on Unsplash
I struggled with this week’s review.
It’s been a little repetitive for my personal taste lately. So, I wanted to spice things up a little.
But that’s not always necessary. Sometimes we are meant to do the same things over and over again.
Like this last week for example. I was very close to making a nice chunk of change with very little effort. To put it more into numbers, a 10X return on my money on an investment. Or a 900% increase.
That sounds huge and it got my blood pumping as well.
In the end, I managed to gain a much smaller percentage, 41,6%. Which is still a very, very nice return.
But I was disappointed. This is where I want to stop for a second and take a mental note.
I made a 41,6% return on my investment and I was still disappointed? What absurdity is this?
If anyone offers You 41,6% on Your investment, You take it. And You take it fast.
So why was I so gutted when this happened to me?
Because of the promise and allure of that bigger return.
That’s it. Very simple. Our minds and in this particular case my mind was already fixated on the bigger sum of money.
In my mind, I was already spending the money I thought I had made. Rookie mistake but it still happened.
It is very easy to get caught up in the emotional roller coaster of it all. But it doesn’t do You any good.
After being with it all for a while I obviously realized that this is insane. I had been in this position before so that helped. But if You are a young investor it is very enticing to start imagining what exactly are You going to do with that money. Even if it’s not in Your account yet. Just because it feels good. Finally, You’ve arrived at the promised land and You’ve made that fortune.
But investing rarely works that way.
It can be a long grind. Making lots of bad decisions before You start making good ones.
Best advice is to keep as much emotion out of it as possible. I know from personal experience that this is hard as hell. But a couple of key things here:
- When the thoughts arise, ask Yourself, is it really so? Your mind can mind fuck You very fast.
- Do Your best to be properly bankrolled. Meaning You only risk small amounts of Your bankroll on high-risk investments. Like the one, I shared with You before. Then it’s easier to accept the outcome, whatever it might be.
- Don’t start spending the money in Your mind when it’s not there yet. It’s okay to visualize it in Your bank account (I’d say that it actually gives the whole process more energy) but don’t start spending it yet! Wait for it and then do the proper calculations on where to put it next. Otherwise, You have to mind fuck Yourself out of that conundrum as well. Meaning You will be extra disappointed because now You can’t buy all of that imagined stuff!
So, take it step by step, You actually have all the time in the world. Contrary to popular belief.
Happy investing.
Ian Altosaar
