Today will be a tale of caution.
My hope for today is to equip your brain for a future wrestling match it might have with your gut.
First, I’d like to provide some context for today’s discussion. To do this, I’ll share a few short anecdotes about my diet, my kids, the law, advice from AA, and Batman.
The overlap and theme in these examples will help make my concluding advice more relatable and digestible.
So, off we go…
My Diet
I hate the word diet. Let’s be real: If you drop the last letter, you are left with the word “die.” Yet, over the last few years, I’ve definitely added some weight, so something needed to change.
You may know the feeling. You see a few old pictures of yourself, relate that image to what you last saw in the mirror, and face the reality that something is indeed different.
So, perhaps diet can be a throwaway word, and we can use a more new age term like “a lifestyle change.” I don’t care what you call it – eating too much is what got me into this mess, and eating less is what will get me out of it.
Now, insert the greatest obstacle: cravings. What exactly are cravings? It’s this tempter inside of you that’s nudging and pushing you to eat exactly what you are trying to avoid. You’re on a mission, you’ve got a plan, and this little tempter wants nothing more than to spoil that plan.
My Kids
Being a parent and raising kids is hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I have no idea what I’m doing, no experience, no coach, and yet I wake up every day—sometimes in the middle of the night—and I’m thrown right out there onto the playing field.
At times, the way your kids behave can absolutely crush the limits of your patience and frustration like you’ve never felt before. Yet, there is a slightly comforting feeling when you start to learn their rhythms, how they’re uniquely wired, and you begin to sort of forecast their moods.
A code word my wife and I often use is “new downloads.” Every so often, a kid has a meltdown for no apparent reason – no toy was stolen, no nap was missed, and no harm was caused—a no-trigger meltdown. As a rookie, these situations frustrated me beyond measure. I concluded – whether this is true or not – that, at this moment, that kid was just downloading new software. They are growing up and getting updates, and the reboot caused a hiccup that resulted in this meltdown. Like we say, “new downloads.”
This little phrase, born well before the recent global IT fiasco, helps me disconnect the behavior from the person. Just a little extra grace required in that moment. That little monster rearing its ugly head for a moment isn’t my kid. It’s that pesky new download. And, eventually, my kiddo will surface, and the meltdown too shall pass.
The Law
I’m not a lawyer and don’t play one on television, but I have watched a lot of television about lawyers and the practice of law. That’s gotta count for something, right?
What makes for good entertainment, but perhaps rare in practice, is a defense attorney convincing the jury that their client committed this act as a crime of passion.
By the standards of Hollywood, this defense negates all the evil doing and pins the guilt on a fleeting emotion rather than the person. It’s as if the person who committed the crime was just a marionette with the strings being pulled by some outside force.
Our very own legal system reinforces this reality that premeditation (a plan) and, in the heat of the moment, are not one and the same.
Advice from AA
I’ve not attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting myself, but I once heard this advice and have often repeated it. Addicts are encouraged to be mindful of when they are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired (HALT).
This acronym is a checklist of common triggers. Many regrets and relapses start with statements like “I was really angry, and then I…” or “I was exhausted, my guard was down, and then…” So the advice is simple: Just HALT; stop what you’re doing and address the trigger, the root cause. Get a bite to eat, take a nap, whatever it takes to get back in the right state of mind.
The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, aptly says, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.” Our plans and aspirations can evaporate in a moment when something that feels like an outside force derails us.
Batman
I’m not much of a Batman enthusiast, but this one quote from the movie has always stuck with me.
As Bane is fighting Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, he says to Batman:
I was wondering what would break first — your spirit…or your body
Remember, Batman has no superpowers—simply his gadgets and his will (his spirit). Bane’s juxtaposition gets to the heart of it all—what will Bruce Wayne give up first, his physical body or his will to fight?
I suppose this is where we get adages like, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” or “Mind over matter.” The idea is that a goal, a plan, an aspiration can fuel us past some of the emotional obstacles that often get in our way.
The Common Thread
Do you see a common theme illuminated in these examples?
Whether we want to call them cravings, new downloads, passions, triggers, or the strength of your spirit, there is this unspoken battle going on.
I introduced today’s discussion by calling this battle a wrestling match between your mind and your gut. There’s what you know is true and right, and then there are your emotions, which are constantly trying to tug the wheel in the opposite direction.
A plan can be derailed and sometimes destroyed by just one craving or lapse of judgment.
Hansel & Gretel
The stock market often operates a lot like the witch from Hansel and Gretel.
The children were lured in by a home constructed of sweets. They were greeted by a witch who offered even more treats. All the while, the children were ignorant of her intentions to make them her next meal.
In the first half of 2024, certain sectors of the stock market have tried to entice investors with accelerated rising prices. Rising prices that are divorced from rising earnings and simply attached to a rising narrative. And, in the end, these shiny-object investments will reveal their intentions by absolutely eating some investors alive.
When the sugar highs fade, and traditional investing fundamentals resurface, investors’ spirits will be tested.
Silenzio Bruno
My timely and thematic advice for today is simply to stick to the plan.
Most financial damage is caused by going off script.
If you don’t have a plan, make one. If you have a plan, review it. If you know your plan, make sure to stick to it.
There’s this Disney movie my kids like to watch called Luca. It follows two friends who are monsters by sea and two normal grade school kids by land. One of the boys is trying to teach the other to be more courageous, and he tells him to simply tell Bruno to shut up. Who’s Bruno? Bruno is that naysayer in your head that makes you question yourself constantly. The boys began to chant, “Silenzio Bruno!” which became a theme for both their friendship and the movie.
Perhaps you don’t have Disney-aged kids anymore. I’ll give you another entertainment reference from another generation. When you feel those cravings knocking at the door or fear and doubt trying to call into question your investment strategy, I want you to summon your inner Tony Danza and just ask yourself, “Who’s the Boss?”
Don’t let your emotions rule the day – BE. THE. BOSS.
Trevor Cummings
PWA Group Director, Partner
tcummings@thebahnsengroup.com
