"Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem." Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 - 1996)
Take a deep breath. Now let it out slowly... Clear your mind of the clutter -- the noise from the outside world -- and begin a new day and beyond...
How important is it that we know the answers? If our hasty desire to find the answers is great enough, that desire has the potential to overcome our better judgment and it will often settle on the first "answer" that makes sense at the time, we then cling to that answer, and set out on a course that may or may not be to our benefit...
The financial markets certainly do not have any shortage of analysts, forecasters, trend seekers, bloggers, and opinion makers that all seem to be in search of the same thing -- the answers to the prevailing questions of the day: Where is the market headed? How can I gain an "edge" over other investors? How much risk should I take? When will the volatility end? When will it begin again?
I try to keep my information intake to a minimum so as to overcome "the poverty of attention" and the sources I most frequently observe appear to be written, read, and commented on by intelligent people. The knowledge of stock market history, economic terminology, corporate financial statements, and financial trends that I observe is mind-boggling, if not impressive, as I sit and read the apparent understanding of complex data (the operative word here being apparent). At the same time, I have to remind myself that knowledge is not wisdom and, as you may relate, it is quite easy for our attention to be consumed by the overabundance of information. Wisdom, however, such as today's words from Krishnamurti, always brings me back to center... Ah, the wonder, power, and comfort of philosophy...
Why can we not resist the temptation to find "the answers?" I've reported on behavioral finance before. Our brains seek out heuristics, or patterns, that "reward" us for discovering them. The only problem is that the "patterns" almost never continue or repeat in the same way. That's why, over time, most money managers seldom beat the market averages and, as we've recently observed, why "quant funds" run by computer programs fail miserably.
If we would only seek to know ourselves completely, both personally and as humans, we would know and understand our drive to seek out trends, which is a pattern of its own, is fundamentally flawed...
If we will simply free ourselves from the desire to find the answers, we may discover that the problem lies, not within the search, but in the fact that we began the search in the first place...
Be free and the answers will find you...
TFPAuthor, Kent Thune, is the President and founder of Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC (ACI), a 'fee-only' Registered Investment Advisory firm located in Mt. Pleasant, SC.
If we will simply free ourselves from the desire to find the answers, we may discover that the problem lies, not within the search, but in the fact that we began the search in the first place...
Be free and the answers will find you...
Thank you for such wonderful final words!!!!
Posted by: Ana | August 29, 2007 at 01:00 AM