Here are some things I’ve been thinking about lately.
Disclaimer: I’m probably not the first person to think of these things. I’m sure I picked these up from a fellow human expressing themselves through conversations, words in a book, dialogue in a movie, lyrics in a song, or eavesdropping on folks arguing over dinner (one of my favorite things to do). Sometimes it’s hard to remember where every insight originated. Sometimes they are slowly internalized through repeated exposure, like learning every lyric to a pop song you had no intention of loving. We’re all pulling from the same weird, swirling pool of ideas.
Money is nothing and everything.
The weird paradox of money in the modern world is that it touches nearly every part of our lives - we need it to access shelter, safety, and security. But once you have enough of it — which I realize is a moving target for most — it’s hard to ignore that it’s the thing that matters the least. It frustrates me to no end that money is both nothing and everything all at once.
The best time to prepare for a downturn is in times of prosperity.
The market and the economy go through natural cycles of booms and busts. Good times are not expected to last in the same way that downturns also eventually have an end. The best time to prepare for a period of austerity is to be disciplined in times of excess.
Be proactive in order to be less reactive.
Being reactive is a good quality to have in certain situations. For example, while playing defense in a basketball game or as someone is attempting to pick your pocket in a crowded tourist trap. Being reactive is not always the best state to be in. For example, letting your phone drag you through an emotional journey where the news and your social feeds leave you in a constant frenzied, frustrated, angry state. The first step in being proactive is realizing that you have the power to be in charge. Take your fucking power back. This pairs nicely with the next insight…
In any situation, you can always find your agency.
You always have agency. Sometimes the options are super limited, like just choosing to connect with your breath. Sometimes the options are a goddamn buffet. Get good at locating your sense of agency and you’ll start to see more ways to win or at least hedge losses. Your financial life can benefit from the non-financial decisions you make because everything is connected.
Half the skill of being educated is learning what you can ignore.
Knowing what information is worth absorbing is as important as absorbing and applying useful information. For example, being able to discern that you shouldn’t take financial advice from a celebrity telling you to buy an NFT is just as important as internalizing and applying a dollar-cost average investing strategy.