Many of us recently celebrated, or more appropriately, honored those that sacrificed in the ultimate way so that we may enjoy the freedoms we have today. Memorial Day is a day that comes once a year that helps us to remember those heroes of our past and show our gratitude. The time of “remembering” can be a powerful tool and help us with how we perceive our daily lives.
While days like Memorial Day and others are a great way to remember, many of us would agree that acting on these memories daily can be powerful. Remembering daily can help us be content with where we are and what we have. It can also help us to overcome future obstacles that may come our way.
As investors, remembering the past can also be a powerful tool as we look at the current investing landscape and future hurdles. No one has a perfect investing record or has predicted the next big crash or bull run 100% of the time. Far from it. The question is whether or not we remember the mistakes of the past and learn from them.
Far too often, investors tend to buy high and sell low. Even though we’ve been told time and time again that acting this out can be harmful to our long-term goals, many investors get impatient and allow their emotions to act. Often they will hear that “This time is different”.
This is where remembering can help. Remembering what has been gained over the years. Remembering that having a long-term perspective can help us not act out of emotion and fear. A perceived loss can be swift and severe but remembering how far we’ve come over the past five to ten years can give a proper perspective.
Remembering our past can help us with our perspective of the present and improve our decisions in the future. Whether it’s in our day-to-day life or in our investments.
Investment advice offered through OneAscent Financial Services, LLC, d/b/a Provident Oak Financial, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply any certain degree of skill or training.