As investors we know that factors such as stress and anxiety can seriously affect our ability to make coherent and informed decisions. This possibility of these emotions affecting our rational decision making capacity especially true during uncertain times when market volatility is high. When share prices drop, people often get scared of losing all their money and resort to panic buying and selling to mitigate losses. However, this generally tends to make matters worse. In a scenario like this, there is a lot you can learn as  an investor, by adopting the principles of Zen philosophy and incorporating them into the way you manage your finances; and restore your peace of mind. In this article, we will look at how you can go about doing this. 

• Find your own technique of investing:

An integral part of Zen is identifying your own process of meditation, through which you can undertake self reflection. This holds a lot of meaning in the world of financial planning as well. Don’t try to adapt to someone else’s method of investing. Develop your own technique of making investments based on the goals you want to achieve and your personality as an investor. Work with a financial advisor who understands you as a person and helps you find the right paths, and not someone who tries to push their own agenda.  

• Pay attention to the journey and don’t rush life:

Zen is not about success or failure, but rather what you can learn from the journey that led to either of the outcomes. Then more than looking for quick results, you need to cultivate patience to learn from the process over time. So when it comes to investing, have faith in your plan and stick to it. If the process is meaningful, and not arbitrary, it will produce significant results. This is something that many young investors overlook. They want quick results like traders, and resort to panic buying and selling in the event of any calamity. Investing is about a longer time horizon, weathering the storms and at times, making mistakes as well. Understanding these experiences will help you evolve and grow as an investor.

• Redefine what it means to suffer a loss:

Many investors often equate a profitable venture to stock prices rising and define suffering a loss as stock prices dropping. This often leads them to feel a great deal of angst or pain, as the market fluctuates. Here, Zen tells us that anxiety and pain are a part of life, but we control the nature of suffering. Then don’t let losses be defined by changes in the market, over which you have no control, rather see them as a result of spending more than you make. This allows you to realise that change is inevitable, and redefine what it means to suffer a loss by altering your spending habits to accommodate market volatility. 

• Cultivate happiness through inner joy:

A pivotal feature of Zen is the idea of living simply, and not deriving your happiness from material possessions. In that sense, you should try to cultivate your happiness in the form of inner joy, rather than expecting it from the state of your finances. This is a good lesson for removing emotions from investing. Many investors don’t want to accept their mistakes and hold on to investments that consistently perform poorly. When your happiness doesn’t rely on the performance of your investments, letting go of the ones that are affecting you negatively becomes easier. 

Adopting Zen philosophy while investing can positively impact your attitude as an investor. It lets you embrace investing in a more wholesome way, and lets you learn from both the ups and downs of your journey as an investor.