JL Collins, author of the Simple Path to Wealth, presents: A Guided Meditation for When the Stock Market is Dropping.
Breath. In. Out. In. And out.
Name the fear. Fear is the mindkiller. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration to my investments. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I and my investments will remain.
Markets rise. Markets fall. Just like the breath. This is natural. This is expected. This is normal. Let it go.
Drops are not disasters. Bear markets are not the end. Crashes are not catastrophes. They are the weather of investing, as ordinary as rain, as expected as cold in winter.
We know what to do when the markets fall: we do nothing. We planned for this. This is expected. This is not a deviation from the plan. This is the plan.
Shares are on sale. Buy them if you can. If you cannot because you’re drawing down, rebalance. Do not fear.
You still own the same slice of the same productive companies. The factory floors still hum. The engineers still engineer. The CEOs still chase earnings. Every one of them, from the loading dock to the corner office, still working to make you richer while you sit and breathe.
Open your eyes. The earth is still turning. The people who loved you this morning love you still. Children laugh. Puppies wag their tails. The sun has not forgotten how to rise.
You have met this test.
Stay the course. Keep it low-cost, automated, diversified, and simple. Keep investing. Let the noise drift away on the breeze.
Now go do something wonderful, in this wonderful world, with all your wonderful freedom.
