You Are Invincible

“You are invincible if nothing outside the will can disconcert you”

I was out in the Charlottesville sun just this weekend, reading some Epictetus recently, a book I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone and everyone, and came across this quote. I thought of all the things that drain our willpower: diets (tough one for me), exercise, politics, sports, our interpersonal relationships, people who park crooked on purpose, all those things that make us surrender to our desires or fears.

I then thought of the markets. I tend to get frustrated when we have a bear market and I check and our clients and personal securities are all swimming in a sea of red. I wonder to myself, “are things really that bad? Are the businesses you believed in, the securities you put your money in, are they really worse today than they were yesterday?”

Well they certainly aren’t any better. I would often wonder, if you invested in something you believed in, like green energy or hydroponic farming or digital transactions, why would you sell given that your likely expectations is that this stock will perform over the next 10-20 years?

But in reality, there a number of reasons a person would sell something, even if they believed in it. Maybe they’ll think it’ll be cheaper tomorrow, or that it’s not the right time to buy and that this sector/security will struggle for two years before taking off, or even they found something they believe in more.

The truth is that if you don’t have a reason to sell and you believe in what you’re putting your money into, then you have reason to stay the storm calmly and without frustration. What does getting frustrated manifest in us other than frustration?

I know I won’t sell or change course because I believe my course to be correct, and if nothing else sways me. After all, my timeline is also many years out. Sometimes we are too easily frustrated with the market’s ups and downs of today because we are impatient to see what our fruits yield.

But when we plant trees or vegetables in our gardens, we understand it will take time and we will have to wait. I’m going to put my mind to not letting things outside my control disconcert me. It won’t be easy. I probably won’t succeed all the time. But now is the best time to start.

Don’t get frustrated. Get invested.

I’m Nickolas Urpí

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