TThe behavioral finance gurus tell us that we’re a bunch of weak-willed monkey brains who strive for performance like everyone else’s tastiest banana. As much as we expect of ourselves as rational agents, weighing the percentages like ice-cold Vulcans, in point of fact we’re more like excitable monkeys, swaying from mood to mood, just as our ancestors swayed from branch to branch.
At least that is how I see myself.
How else could I explain my desire to hoard gold or get entangled in something else that’s on the rise NOW?
Or the relentless inner critic giving me a “fail” for missing the huge Bitcoin rally of the last two years? Not to say the all-you-can-eat buffet of risks that might render BTC worthless in a single fell swoop.
It’s hard to disregard the lure of recent success and the need to do something (anything!).
Even if the evidence suggests that the more we act, the more severe off we’re.
A journey of self-discovery
Pursuing a passive investment strategy and (more often than not) sticking to it’s a difficult task. Like being a monk who forgoes worldly pleasures while living in Las Vegas.
Like our shaven-headed role models, we embark on a journey of self-improvement. Maybe not escape the shackles of the mind, but no less than escape the handcuffs of the office. Gold or otherwise.
I used passive investing to attain financial independence (FI).
The journey felt like I used to be piloting an ocean-going life raft, lashed along with index trackers and propelled by my savings toward the land of the free.
The FI adventure requires:
The Determination to remain heading in the right direction, irrespective of how turbulent the ocean is. You could also be adrift or lost or seemingly sinking, but you dismiss doubt – the mental image of the FI island and an “Aloha” greeting keep you going.
The discipline keep on with the plan. Save, buy, keep, rebalance. This is the drumbeat that rows your boat across the uncertain ocean. It is boring. Your mind screams for an end to the monotony. Willpower should be the galley master’s instinct.
The Power resist the siren song of easy gratification. This is particularly true when you continue to exist limited rations. It can be really easy to get stranded on a sandy reef. Break out the rum, have fun with the locals, and ignore the smoking caldera and the large pot that everyone seems to be so enthusiastic about. Does anyone have a hot tub?
The Determination for independence. You increasingly realize you could fix, patch, or work around any problems that arise. The comforts and standing symbols of your old life grow to be less necessary. You find recent joy in easy things and in a bigger narrative filled with discovery.
I greet you
It’s a lonely journey sometimes. It’s not something quite a lot of other people need to discuss. So it’s hard to get positive reinforcement for doing the proper thing, except through communities just like the ones here at .
And I would like to acknowledge that. Whether you are a young 20-year-old starting early, a 30-year-old putting all of it on the road, or a weathered sixty-year-old about to land, you are doing something extremely difficult.
You are build up or have already built up large reserves of willpower. You develop good habits that carry over into other areas of your life, resembling work and health.
And you do that within the face of general skepticism, ignorance, and sometimes… consternation the broader society.
But when you can stay the course even when it’s hard – when you refuse to present up and fight the FI demons – when you keep going irrespective of what, you then will make it.
I promise you, it’s price it. This is absolutely in regards to the destination and never the journey:
- If you get up every time you wish, the alarm will go off on the unholy clock.
- Hanging out with friends and family members is healthier than spending all day with colleagues and, let’s be honest, the idiots that plague work life.
- Days within the sun, reading, exercising, playing around, and investing time in passion projects trumps office politics, KPIs, pitches, firefighting, and 360-degree reviews.
Oh my god, it’s higher. It’s not perfect. Real life still intrudes. But FI is price waiting for, and passive investing can get you there.
Be calm,
