My Life After Retail

“Hold on loosely, but don’t let go; if you cling too tightly, you’re gonna lose control.”  As I was driving to campus the other day I heard this song and it made me realize that you cannot cling to anything in life too tightly without losing control. When it comes to finances, relationships, work, business, beliefs, health or any other aspects of life there has to be a happy medium that you have created.

Something that always comes up with I think of clinging too tightly is my personal investment portfolio.  When I was in college and a recent graduate I made sure that my real time ticker was always streaming with up to the second quotes on all the investments I owned.  I was so analytical about it that I actually talked myself out of some very profitable trades.  After getting a full time job I no longer had time to check my stocks every day.  I noticed that the less I analyzed my portfolio the better it performed.

I will never be the investor who just random picks stocks but I am convinced that I need to go with my gut instinct and just leave it at that.  In early 2005 I told all of my friends and family to buy gold under $600; luckily for me I made this purchase as well and I continue to hold it.  Over the course of the last five years I can document many stocks that I bought and sold too early because I was clinging too tightly.  I will continue to hold on loosely to my investment portfolio but I won’t let go!

I am sure many of you have had relationships that involved someone overbearing.  That individual could have been a mother or father, your significant other or even yourself.  You probably realized, after time, that the more you tried to make things better the harder they got.  I often use the analogy of holding a can of Coke when it comes to relationships.  If you hold the can too tight you are going to start crushing it but if you do not use enough strength you are going to let the can drop to the floor and all the Coke will spill out.  Once again, there must to be a happy medium in which you can hold the can comfortably and just move forward.

If you get in a situation in your life that involves thinking about something each and every day you might want to turn on the 38 Special song and realize that it would be a good idea to “hold on loosely, but don’t let go.”  Getting something off your mind and allowing yourself to refresh goes a long way in making mature, correct decisions.  Right now finances are a big concern for many people.  Dwelling on your finances each and every day is likely to just bring you down so take some time to yourself and enjoy your happiness list rather than thinking about your credit score.  With that in mind, don’t let go!  Eventually you will need to come back to your financial situation and clear things up but try to hold on loosely.