Good afternoon DTB, Re: Proper attitude for investing.........
I'm glad you noticed. Here's a graph of the smaller cap stocks going back a few years. It shows the level of speculation relative to the NASDAQ Composite Index. You'll note that when the market is stinky, the measurable speculation drops to zero or below. Those make for excellent times to be starting new investments, for instance.
Right now looks to be a time of mild caution and I've been attempting to "Sell to the Greedy" for a while! The sidelined cash is just waiting for a chance to "Buy from the Scared."