We've all heard the saying, "Do what makes you happy."
It's a great saying and the understanding people generally get from that saying is if we are doing something and we are not happy with it, we should do something else.
When we look at investing, we eventually find out that investing is about long term gain. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, or even next year. Investment gains take decades.
A young man had finished school and decided that he really wanted a fancy, red convertible sports car. He KNEW that if he had that sports car, he would be happy.
He got a well paying job and went to work every day and saved to buy a sports car. He researched all the cars he thought he might want and eventually, when he had enough money, he decided which car and went out and bought it.
And he was happy.
The car was gorgeous. It had leather, heated seats. A top of the line stereo. It was the perfect, red convertible.
And then he had to insure it and he wasn't so happy about that cost. And then he burnt off the tires and wasn't happy about that. And he needed to take it in for maintenance and wasn't happy. And he had to get the paint chips repaired. And so on.
And as the year wore on, he started thinking that his junky red car wasn't so great. He decided that a NEW TRUCK would make him happy.
The moral of that story? The kid found out he wasn't happy with his truck, either, for the same reasons. The person who bought his car? Was happy with all the car was. Enjoyed taking care of the car. Even found pleasure in the 5 mile walk he had to endure when the car broke down as the scenery was nice, and he eventually caught a ride with the woman who would become his wife.
We will not find joy and happiness outside of us. We find those things within us. In our most tragic hours, we may not want to find pleasure. That's understandable. Yet in any given situation, we choose how we feel.
If we forget to find enjoyment and be happy, it does not matter what we do.
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