TREADMILL

Daniel Wallen (writer on motivation and happiness on Lifehack) blogged about the reasons why people fail their new year resolutions:

Treating a marathon like a sprint

Where I come from, they say that a plant will bear fruit only in the season irrespective of what you do;

Almost everything in life right from success in exams to creating a meaningful career, relationships or making a difference to somebody is a slow and painful process.

Exuberance and impatience characterize our behavior when we start something new but “patience is the key”

There is no easy way to do it.

Putting the cart before the horse

Often action is deemed a replacement for what’s important and makes a difference.

There are steps that will meaningfully help your efforts and then there is stuff that you can leave out and nothing change

Understanding the difference is very important

Not Believing in yourself

When people see a runner, they get enchanted by the rhythm and the beauty of running.

They want to be runner too; however, it takes time to develop the stamina to run.

The first time you try running, you will stop within second, not even minutes, if you give up then, do you think you can ever develop the stamina

Yes, you will fail, however you have to believe in yourself and give it sometime

Too much thinking, not enough doing
The perfect plan, perfect setting and reaching a place where you will never fail is a mirage

Ultimately you have to take a step forward and start doing something

Success/failure you cannot determine, but efforts you can

Not enjoying the process and trying too hard

The I started to learn swimming, I would lose steam very quickly and my coach would shout, “YOU ARE TRYIN TOO HARD, You ARE NOT ENJOYING YOURSELF, STOP TRYING TO REACH THE OTHER END, JUST ENJOY THE SWIM”

Those words have always remained with me as I think about the most of what I do on a daily basis- “ENJOY THE PROCESS, Don’t TRY TOO HARD”

You know your “WHAT” but not your “WHY”

Individuals focus on the result but not why they are looking for that result.

Why do you do what you do-is there a meaning to it or is just because you are part of a rat race or n number of other irrelevant reasons

Without meaning, chances of giving up and getting disenchanted is easy.

Don’t seek excitement in the activity, but remember if there is a meaning to it and you do end up achieving what you have set out-excitement will be part of the result

Get off the Treadmill

If you think about the reasons above, they apply to almost everything we do in life.

Investing is one of them.

Investors looking for long term returns and checking their portfolios everyday

No process for making decisions ensures that an investor neither knows why the investment went right and neither do they know why it went wrong

If “END” is the only thing that matters, taking wrong decisions is easy

Is there a “MEANING” to the investing “Journey” then it will enthuse you.

If there is no “MEANING”, it will leave you exhausted and weary.

Reasons for failure and giving up are not difficult to understand, however they are definitely difficult to appreciate.

Don’t make it a treadmill-that you can run on but not reach anywhere

STAY THE COURSE