Performance is a very important part of our lives. We can’t escape the test of measurement. A whole lot of people suffer grave anxiety at the very thought. Performance has patterns and these patterns are unique to each discipline. In areas where performance has the potential to repeat consistently, we do see reduced anxiety. But, getting a linear performance depends on how predictable the area of measurement is.
Investment isn’t a discipline where performance is linear. The reason is simple. Predictability is definitely low in investing. Yet, most people spend valuable time in the business of predicting. The predictions do very little to the actual performance. When performance does not match such predictions, anger is a natural outcome. The decisions that spring out of such anger are rarely positive or right. Seasoned investors rarely rely on predictions. They run their investing without bothering about predictions. They focus on preparation. Preparation helps an investor deal effectively with performance anxiety, short term failure and crisis. Preparation not only helps an investor manage tough situations, it becomes the primary driver of performance. Investors must shift focus from prediction to preparation. The coming financial year will belong to the prepared investor. That much is always predictable.
Great wealth is mostly created by the right behaviour. Losses clearly are behavioural failures.
