Do you remember the time when your toddler child had a temper tantrum? Do you remember when your child turned red in anger and lay screaming with arms and leg flailing in the air and everyone around expected you to get the child to quiet down and behave? Almost every one of us can recall such a moment. It may have been many years ago but memories of those moments of helplessness of the distant past are still sharp.
Emotions ran high and at some point you probably tried using phrases such as “please stop otherwise you will lose your privileges” or “think about what you are doing” or other similar reminders to consequences for bad behavior. You may also recall that such calls to rationality were quite ineffective in a highly emotional situation.
In our adult lives, we may be a lot more adept at controlling and expressing our emotions in socially acceptable ways, but emotions greatly influence our actions.
For example: The recent run up in the stock markets has many of us feeling much better than we did a few months ago. Higher net worth gives us a greater sense of security, greater freedom and more success and it feels good to be better off than most of your college buddies. Conversely, when the stock markets turn down or our businesses encounter a rough patch, loss of money can trigger feelings of fear and anxiety.
When the markets turned down last March and you were probably left feeling quite uncomfortable and uncertain, you may have called on the expertise of your financial advisor. It is likely that your financial advisor or investment expert showed you cash flow analyses, historical charts and other sophisticated metrics and asked you to be rational or think long term. Those calls to rationality may have stopped you from making poor investment choices, however it had little effect on how you felt.
Those negative feelings however, may have exacted a huge opportunity cost. Feelings of anxiety can cause you to pull back and hunker down and if anxiety is high enough, feel paralyzed and overwhelmed. Under such circumstances, you may fail to recognize opportunities or even if you spot them, become risk averse and be somewhat uncertain and unwilling to capitalize on them. You may have even begun to question the quality or profitability of some of your endeavors.
With the help of a GWT advisor, you can re-tool yourself to leverage your emotions to your advantage and convert them into the foundation, the building blocks of your true wealth. This can help recharge and rebuild, and help create a life you desire in ways you may not have considered before.
If you would like to learn more, please register today to experience of Guided Wealth Transformation™, a innovative one hour interactive workshop designed to help successful individuals like you use your wealth to create the best life possible. It’s a free, no obligation offer. Please email me at info@gvfinancial.com to register.
The truth is countless other very intelligent people are wondering the same thing, as these are the logical conclusions based on the same data. No one becomes successful by following the pack. So how do you gain an edge? One way to gain an unfair advantage in a marketplace where many competitors are relying on the same data is to tap into the insight provided by our gut (emotions). Are you surprised and somewhat taken aback? Let me explain. A combination of our unique talents, skills, wisdom gained through experience and the insights of our friends and families is the basis of any gut reaction. When we learn to use all of these resources and not just what our rational mind is trained to tap into, the results can be dramatic.
Judging by the market rally, it would appear as if the problems that plagued the markets have been blasted away by the various bailout and stimulus programs. Is the stock market predicting a return to profitability and growth or is the stock market getting a little ahead of itself?
I hope all of us live long happy lives. But that may not occur for all of us. Reality is such that many of us will have a need for assistance with everyday functioning as we grow older. As our bodies age, there is a higher likelihood that we will need professional help at home or in an institution when we recover from illness.
Imagine for a moment, being stranded in a strange place where you are isolated from all your other resources and given 50 million dollars. How would you react to a scenario where you are devoid of any talent or skill, where your intelligence is questionable and body unable to move or function without help, living in a place where you have no friends or family? Would you describe yourself to be happy and having fun under these circumstances?
