I spent a good hour today on the phone with a good friend. He was asking me about finances, about moving forward after making big mistakes. As it happens many people believe that those who have made a lot, never lost. The opposite seems to be the truth.
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There is no way to eliminate risk, not from life in general, so it makes sense that it would not be different in the world of finances. I can name distinct situations when I have lost opportunities, made poor decisions and found myself wondering how I could ever recover.
When we make those choices, when we lose a lot, the biggest loss is not the asset itself, but the motivation that we seem to lose with it. It can feel at times like we spent hours building the most beautiful of sand castles, but never took into account the shifting tides.
The truth is that no matter at what level you are operating in, at what risk tolerance you feel comfortable, one day you will make a mistake and you will lose. If we can accept this possibility, if we can accept that because we are humans who are bound to not be right at times, we can also learn to forgive ourselves when we make those mistakes.
It almost does not matter how hard you fall, as long as you are willing to get back up. I've been there, more than once actually, and as much as I remember those days as some really rough times. I like to think of them as my most important lessons in life.
Until next time...
