Most of us have been taught that investing is a solitary experience; that what we do is we go and meet with our financial planner or our financial advisor, and don’t talk about money with others, don’t share what is going on, and certainly don’t share your fear, or your apprehension, or your goals, or your feelings. We are led to believe that we should do this in isolation.
Instincts plus emotions plus perceptions are twisted and take over in isolation. But human beings are meant to live in community, in support of each other. It’s the fear of sharing our own emotions and failed behavior that keep us stuck. However, we gain strength by sharing our experiences, fears, and hopes. And we do that best in groups. To be successful as an investor is to take strength and hope from others, to share our experience, to know we are not alone when the market goes down 30 percent or when we see an advertisement for gold up 80 percent. It helps us to know that there are other people struggling with the same things that we’re struggling with and the same fears that we struggle with, where it’s the economy, struggles at home, the loss of a job, or health issues. All of these things can exacerbate the situation. When the market crashes or there are bad periods, and you combine that with health problems, or problems with children or problems with jobs, it magnifies the fear. It makes things worse. To be a successful investor, requires the support of a group. When we’re in a group, we understand ourselves when we share. You learn from other people’s experience, and then learn that you’re really not so different after all.