The Get Smart in 60 seconds series is designed to be like an espresso shot, a concentrated article dedicated to the Smart Investor on the go, with ideas or concepts delivered in 250 words or less.
It’s hard to keep your eyes off the stock market these days.
The news is relentless.
Banks and REITs are taking a beating.
Malaysia announces a movement control order.
… with it, the stock market has been incredibly volatile.
And when your wealth is tied to extreme swings, you can’t help but watch.
But you shouldn’t, here’s why …
Patterns everywhere
Wall Street journalist Jason Zweig made a key discovery in his book, Your Money and Your Brain, saying …
“It’s vital to recognize the basic realities of pattern recognition in your
investing brain:
a) It leaps to conclusion
b) It is unconscious
c) It is automatic
d) It is uncontrollable ”
You see, our brains are hardwired to recognise patterns.
Most of the time, this characteristic helps us survive.
If we see a car coming our way, we recognise it and avoid it.
But when it comes to investing, pattern recognition works against you.
Stock price movements can form incorrect patterns in our heads, spurring you to buy or sell for the wrong reasons.
In effect, your brain is working against you.
Get Smart: Shut it off
Thankfully, there is an easy way to limit this problem …
Simply remove the column with the daily stock price movement.
Think about it.
Daily movements tell you nothing about a stock.
If you know what stock price to pay, all you need is the stock price on the day. That’s all.
So, go ahead. Do it. Save yourself from the unnecessary anxiety.
FREE special report: The Bear Market Survival Guide. If you’d like to learn how to survive this bear market, CLICK HERE to download our special free report.
Get more stock updates on our Facebook page or Telegram. Click here to like and follow us on Facebook and here for our Telegram group.
