Envy is Worse than Greed and Fear

With the water issue comes fear, and when there is fear there is opportunity. And of course, there are people who would take advantage of that opportunity to make money. There are smart people with balls that took advantage of those opportunity and made money. Then they brag and post their portfolio in social media so other would look up to them (or sell them seminars). And then, you realize that even your dumbest neighbor made money in MWC.

Ignorance and stupidity is a bad trait which we try very hard to solve. We read and stay alert of the current events around us so that we have a clear mental picture of the world. But then your dumb neighbor, because of his stupidity, became lucky and invested in MWC. He thought he is now a chart wizard. He is now fooled by randomness.

You, as an investor, might not have jumped into this opportunity. You might have seen the dumb neighbor became richer than you. Or, if you did invested into MWC and saw other portfolio screenshots online and realized the gains that they got is just a fraction of the money that you got. Theirs is a killing. Yours, beer money.

This is not a tragedy.

Do not beat yourself up. Even if you see the dumb neighbor get rich its ok. Tell yourself its ok. If you see technical analysts and 20 year olds became overnight millionaires because of one trade, its ok. Don’t mind them. For envy is worse than greed and fear.

Greed and Fear, you can make money from. Envy will just mess up your brain and prevent you from learning from mistakes. In the words of Charlie Munger, its the only sin where you can’t have any fun. Be aware of this feeling inside you. Let gratitude flow and see the lighter side of things. At least you still have that cash. At least you learned something. And when the same thing happens again, you will be ready.

When I browse my investagram feeds I saw these portfolio screenshots. I saw people with lower average price than me and people with more capital than me and thus have more gains. I can feel envy stirring up inside me. And I can even smell the purpose of those people why they do it. Some wants to brag. Others wants to sell you seminars and subscriptions. Its annoying. I know it would only lead me to bad decisions in the future if I entertain the feeling. The only thing I can do is block them. Not visit the site. Or block the site in my computer. Psychology is really a big part of investing. You should always be aware of that.

Experience and education is compounding. This experience as you grow older will never leave you. Thus, it compounds. The more experience you have, the more prepare you become for the next big investment.

This is my first post for this year. So Happy new year!

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