But I Need to DO SOMETHING!

I know that each of us is each personally feeling that we are facing a BIG problem right now, affecting our selves, those that we love, our ability to retire, other cherished goals. We are not helpless, in fact, we are used to being in charge of our destiny. And here I’ve been telling you to do…nothing: Stay the course, don’t panic, don’t sell your stocks. But, you may be saying, I’ve listened to you, I’m not panicked, and this is not completely about my portfolio. I have plenty of energy and determination, and doing nothing in a crisis is not what I’m about.

Here’s what I can say to you.

We have been on quite a ride for a number of years, and fear and greed have been the catalysts of the growth AND the crisis. Fear is the greatest enemy, and greed is the unlovely daughter of fear – the behavior created out of the fear of not having enough, of missing out, of not looking good, resulting in an unhealthy reliance on forces outside of ourselves to create abundance and peace of mind.

Fear and greed inspire very poor long term decisions. Collectively, we as a country have not been good stewards of what we have been given. We have put too much reliance on the growth in the value of our homes and portfolios, and we must be careful now to avoid too much reliance on government interventions and political promises.

So, here is what you can do. If you look closely at the U.S. economy, you will find it is made up of 200 million or so individual economies. Start thinking about your own personal economy and begin to think about how you can be a better steward of that personal economy. Turn a little of your fear into interest and curiosity and create some inspiration about how you personally can shift your own situation and contribute to your own solution. This might involve working longer, saving more, spending less, finding creative ways to economize that don’t involve giving up joy in life but provide you with more quality time, thinking more about the future with optimism rather than anxiety. The ability to save (and spend less than what comes in) has a far greater impact on our future way of life than the returns that come from the market, good, bad, or – in the case of the last couple of months – awful. If you can commit to a personal action plan, when the market recovers, you may find yourself in an even better position than before.