reward

Keep Life Enjoyable, Interesting, and Fun By Breaking Out of the Routine of Things

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

A good way to keep life fresh, fun, enjoyable, and interesting is to break out of the routine of things every once in a while. One good way to do this is to take what I often refer to as a “free weekend” where once a month or so you spend a weekend doing new things or things you greatly enjoy to include those you haven’t done in a while to break out of the routine of things: No cleaning, no project or maintenance work, no schedules, and no other kinds of work. Only fun doing new activities you’ve never done before that you would like to try out or activities you know you already greatly enjoy to include those that you don’t get to do very often. Since many people tend to be routine oriented, myself included, breaking out of the routine can be fun and exciting from time to time and can be just what you need to relax, rejuvenate, and re-energize yourself to maintain the motivation and stamina you need to meet your ongoing life demands and challenges.

When I began implementing this monthly “free weekend” activity it became such a wonderful, enjoyable experience for me and always gave me something to look forward to. I’ve done everything from going to the beach, going to plays and movies, going hot air ballooning, going bike riding, relaxing by the pool, doing some creative writing, going canoeing, doing some enjoyable reading, engaging in movie marathons at home, going to concerts, going to charming cities and towns, going to lakes and parks, exploring creativity via music and art, getting psychic readings, going out to new restaurants and cafes, getting massages and spa treatments, going to events, going to theme parks, going shopping, renting scooters, going to farmer’s markets, spending quality time with friends and family, and countless other activities. It’s so wonderful not having a schedule – doing whatever you want, whenever you want, and going to bed and sleeping in as late as you want. The only rule is that there are no rules aside from enjoying yourself and having fun.

Sometimes my “free weekends” were filled with new and exciting activities, sometimes they were filled with activities I already greatly enjoy, sometimes they were filled with low key, relaxation activities, and sometimes they were filled with a combination of these. All in all, I generally had such a wonderful time during my “free weekends” and got to do pretty much everything that I wanted to do. It felt so enjoyable, peaceful, and freeing doing this for myself from time to time and I encourage each and every one of you to give this a try by taking a “free weekend” for yourselves every once in a while. It’s such a wonderful experience.

I frequently tell people to reward themselves all along the way towards their dreams and goals and when performing their regular life activities. And taking a “free weekend” from time to time can do just that. It’s something that I’ve really enjoyed over the years. So do this for yourself from time to time if you can.

Now… While I fully encourage and embrace the idea of taking a “free weekend” from time to time, I know that there are some people out there who do things like this all of the time – often to the point that they lack progress in other areas of their lives. If you happen to be one of these people then I would encourage you to do the opposite by perhaps taking a “productivity weekend” once a month or so focused on making progress. Once you get in the practice of doing this progress will become easier and more consistent for you.

This article describes one way in which to keep life fresh, fun, enjoyable, and interesting, and rewarding yourself along the way, by breaking out of the routine of things from time to time. I hope that some of you will do this for yourselves every once in a while.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help oriented books: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/ 

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness

 

Joseph M. Brennan Jr.
CEO/Life Coach – Brighter Days Life Coaching
“Your Brighter Days Life Coach for Life”

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Using Bollinger Bands, Stochastics, and Other Indicators to Guide Stock Market Activities

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Generally, I like to use a series of indicators to evaluate the risk-reward potential of various stocks and inform and guide actions that I take in the stock market. Two of these include Bollinger Bands and Stochastics. Today, in the stock market, I decided to sell some of my shares of Unisys (UIS) based on these and other indicators that I generally look at.

I initially bought the UIS stock a few months ago, because the risk-reward indicators that I generally look at appeared to be highly favorable at the time. The stock had a pretty good run prior to its earnings release on 23 July so I decided to sell half of my position then, because stocks sometimes move significantly on earnings release day, and in case the stock price declined, I wanted an opportunity to purchase the stock at a lower price. Sure enough the stock did fall significantly and my risk-reward assessment indicated the pricing of the stock became highly favorable. I then started aggressively buying as a result. I decided to sell some shares of this stock today for several reasons such as those indicated by the following chart.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

My reasons for selling some of my UIS shares today included the following:

1) The stock was converging upon the upper Bollinger Band.

2) The Stochastics Chart was indicating overbought conditions since the Stochastics Line was above the 80 mark.

3) The UIS stock “reverted to the mean” (namely the 50 day EMA and had previously crossed the 20 MA which is represented by the dotted centerline between the upper and lower Bollinger Bands). I discuss this aspect in more detail in my article, Using Moving Averages and Dollar Cost Averaging to Realize Consistent Gains in the Stock Market.

4) The UIS stock has been “filling in the gap” between the 23 July gap down and the previous day’s close. Sometimes, I like to wait patiently for that to happen before selling a stock that I’m holding.

Each of these are indications that the UIS stock might be getting a little pricey and that it might be time to consider selling some shares to manage risk and have cash available to take advantage of future investment opportunities that become available when risk-reward indicators become highly favorable in nature.

The UIS stock still has the potential to continue increasing since the one year price target of $31.00 is about 34% higher than where the stock price stands today. As such, I decided to continue holding some of my shares. In addition, the fundamental data associated with the UIS stock is also favorable which often leads me to patiently hold stocks for longer periods of time than I otherwise might.

So… That’s where things stand for me in the stock market right now… I’ll let you know how things go… Either way I have a plan. If the UIS stock rises significantly, or the risk-reward becomes substantially more unfavorable in nature via the indicators that I look at, then I’ll be a seller of additional shares, but if the UIS stock falls significantly, and the risk-reward becomes favorable in nature via these indicators, then I’ll be a buyer.

Keep in mind, when performing your own investment activities, that evaluating the risk reward of investment alternatives using various indicators such as “Bollinger Bands” and “Stochastics”, and taking actions accordingly, can help you to manage risk and realize consistent gains in your investments over time. Part of being a disciplined investor, and realizing consistent gains over time, involves recognizing unfavorable conditions, taking actions accordingly, and patiently waiting until the next compelling investment opportunity arises; one where the risk-reward becomes favorable for you according to your risk profile. If you operate in this fashion you will experience much success as an investor.

Using Moving Averages and Price Averaging to Realize Consistent Gains in the Stock Market

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Today, in the stock market, I decided to sell half of my shares of General Motors (GM) for a small gain. I initially bought this stock a few weeks ago, because the risk-reward indicators that I generally look at appeared to be highly favorable. However, the stock continued to fall so I decided to keep buying to price average into it. Often people are tempted to sell stocks that continue to fall, but I decided to continue buying and patiently wait at least until the stock reverted back to the mean before considering to sell the stock. The “price averaging” and “reversion to the mean” techniques are approaches that I’ve used repeatedly when experiencing initial losses to allow me to recover from these losses and manage risk. All stocks eventually revert back to their means so these techniques can be strategies you can use to improve gains, manage risk, and maintain a sense of patience and discipline when performing your investment activities. As you can see from the chart below the GM stock experienced some steady gains over the past several days and has reverted back to the 20 day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

As such, I used this as an opportunity to sell some shares. Frequently, major moving averages such as the 20 day EMA serve as resistance zones and support zones to stocks. Since the GM stock has not yet sustained a move above the 20 day EMA I took it as another sign to sell at least part of my position. Stocks that do not sustain moves above resistance zones often decline. Selling half of my position will allow me to use the freed up cash to buy at a lower price should this decline happen and I decide to capitalize on it. On the other hand, the remaining half of the shares I own will allow me to capitalize should the stock sustain a move above the resistance zone which frequently results in significant price increases. So… That’s where things stand for me in the stock market right now… I’ll let you know how things go… Either way I have a plan. If the GM stock rises significantly, or the risk-reward becomes unfavorable in nature, then I’ll be a seller of additional shares, but if the GM stock falls significantly, and the risk-reward becomes more favorable in nature, then I’ll be a buyer. Keep in mind, when performing your own investment activities, that evaluating risk reward, taking actions accordingly, and using techniques such as “price averaging”, “reversion to the mean”, and “resistance and support zones” can help you to realize consistent gains in your investments over time.