Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.
Nathaniel Emmons
Webster’s defines habit as a
thing done often and hence, usually done easily; a custom; a pattern of action
that is acquired and has become so automatic that it is difficult to break.
“I am your constant companion. I am your greatest
helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward and upward or I will drag you
down to failure. I am completely at your command. Ninety percent of the things
you do might just as well be turned over to me, and I will do them
automatically. I am the servant of all great people and, alas! of all failures
as well. I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine,
plus the intelligence of man. You can run me for profit or run me for ruin—it
makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place
the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am
Habit.”
Anonymous
We all accumulate habits,
some good and some not so good. But it’s always the same: Your choice. Whether
you’re working out or just trying to live your life, choose your habits
carefully. And on those days when you
find your spirit flagging a bit, try to remember something the author Somerset
Maugham wrote years ago: “The unfortunate thing about this world is that good
habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.”
Habits play an important role in our investing whether we realize it or not. Buying at the top and selling at the bottom is widespread among retail investors. Swimming always with the crowd is a confirmation habit. It often provides a false sense of validation, a feel good factor.
I started this book out with
a piece about habits because they play such a large role in our lives. All of us are forming habits daily. Habits
are like the saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” Habits fill vacuums.
So be extra careful what
you’re leaving unattended. It just might get filled with a habit.
_____________________
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