Buy low, sell high... why it is more difficult than you think...
Everyone knows the adage "buy low, sell high"... but its not that simple... and your brain is the reason why... the human brain evolved over time and the older portions of the system are emotionally driven with survival responses... as the world became more complex the thinking portions of the system were developed over the top of the older systems... such that both are there and sometimes in conflict with each other...
So when investors see red in their portfolios the emotional parts of the brain kick in with survival instincts to act and the act that is most immediate is to click "sell" and go to cash... similarly when investors see green in their portfolios the emotional parts of the brain get naturally high "counting the money"... and the immediate emotional reaction is I want more of this... click "buy"... so for the emotive part of the brain the natural instinct is to "buy high, sell low"... this is precisely what bashers and shorts utilize with their ridiculous posts... bashers are not stupid, though their posts can certainly be idiotic (and usually are)... bashers are preying on the emotional part of your brain... the next time they attack... take a deep breath... walk away from your computer... engage the thinking part of your brain and ask yourself... "has anything really changed here in my investment thesis?"... if it hasn't, then ignore the bashers and do something you enjoy...
