success

STRATEGIES FOR LOSS MITIGATION AND BUYING INTO STOCK MARKET DOWNTURNS

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

There is opportunity no matter what happens in the stock market. In a previous post, I talked about how taking too much risk in the stock market at the wrong time can shred your life savings. If you experienced downturns in the past, you probably learned this painful but valuable lesson several years ago. I learned this valuable lesson during the dot com bubble 20 years ago. Also, in a previous post, I shared the eye-opening fact that if the stock market drops 50%, then it has to gain 100% just to break even. I am now going to show how you can take advantage by buying into a falling market like this.

Consider the following set of loss/gain percentage pairs. If from peak to trough the stock market (or individual stocks for that matter):

  • loses 20%, then, if you are fully invested at the time, you will gain 25% at the break even point (not including dividends)
  • loses 25%, then, if you are fully invested at the time, you will gain 33% at the break even point (not including dividends)
  • loses 33%, then, if you are fully invested at the time, you will gain 50% at the break even point (not including dividends). This is about where the stock market is right now.
  • loses 50%, then, if you are fully invested at the time, you will gain 100% at the break even point (not including dividends)
  • loses 75%, then, if you are fully invested at the time, you will gain 300% at the break even point (not including dividends)

Most of the time it takes just a few years for the stock market to recover to its previous high. So, it helps to not only have a loss mitigation strategy in your stock market investing toolbox but also a strategy for buying into stock market downturns.

No one knows where the bottom will be in this current downturn, but I just continue buying into the market as new lows are experienced. I am currently about 35% invested and plan to grow that over time. Now, although I learned a valuable lesson during the 2000-2002 dot com bubble which helped a lot during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, the additional lesson I learned from the financial crisis which I plan to apply to this downturn is resisting the urge to sell too early. This time I plan to buy into the stock market and hold it for a lengthy period of time. To be a successful investor you have to evolve and adjust your approaches over time. Because, no matter what happens, there are lessons to be learned and ways to improve performance.

Now, if you were getting fairly close to reaching your financial goals, prior to this current downtown, and found you’ve been taking too much risk, well, learn these valuable lessons now and make adjustments for the future and it will help you tremendously. If you are a long distance from reaching your financial goals or are a new or future investor then learn these lessons for the years to come and remember to reduce your risk as you begin approaching your financial goals and then buy into downturns so you can capitalize on them. Remember, there is opportunity no matter what happens in the stock market.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/).

Make it your goal to learn these investment techniques so that you can progress towards achieving the financial freedom and independence you’ve always dreamed of.

#stocks #investing #stockmarket #success

A DISCIPLINED APPROACH FOR INVESTING IN A FALLING MARKET

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

There is opportunity no matter what happens in the stock market. One of the worst things you can be as an investor is an emotional investor. So, try to get your emotions out of it and execute with a sense of discipline.   Fortunately for me, I’m still strongly in positive territory for 2020 which is not bad given that the overall stock market has taken quite a tumble.

Over the past year I’ve been employing my stock market correction strategy which involves shorting the overall stock market and selling periodic gains and repeating this (I used the UVXY to short the market).  

At the beginning of March, I switched things up and started using my bear market strategy which involves buying into the stock market a little at a time, selling significant rallies, and then continuing to buy into the stock market until it appears to go through a bottoming process. I first developed this strategy after the 2000-2002 dot com bubble. I lost a lot of money then (as most people did).   My first use of this strategy was during the 2007-2009 financial crisis and I did much better than I did during the dot com bubble. Since then I have refined it a bit more. We’ll see how well it works this time. Hopefully, the refinements will allow me to do even better this time than I did during the financial crisis.

To be a successful investor you have to evolve and adjust your approaches over time. Because, no matter what happens, there are lessons to be learned and ways to improve performance.   The reason I developed this bear market strategy is because once the overall stock market loses a significant percentage of its value, it takes a much larger gain to break even. Consider the following set of loss/gain percentage pairs. If from peak to trough the stock market (or individual stocks for that matter):  

  • loses 20%, then it has to gain 25% to break even
  • loses 25%, then it has to gain 33.3% to break even
  • loses 33%, then it has to gain 50% to break even
  • loses 50%, then it has to gain 100% to break even
  • loses 75%, then it has to gain 300% to break even

So, it helps to have a loss mitigation strategy in your stock market investing toolbox.   Another disciplined approach I’ve used as a loss mitigation strategy involves the following:  

  •  Case #1: If a majority of my investment account is invested in the stock market, I ask myself, based on where the overall stock market is right now (e.g., the S&P 500 Index is what I frequently use), what is the probability of the next 10%+ move in the stock market being down? If I assign a 15% probability of this happening (which means I think there’s an 85% probability of the stock market going up by this much), then I adjust my investment account such that 15% of it is in cash (or other low risk alternatives).
  • Case #2: If a majority of my investment account has been cashed out, I ask myself the opposite: based on where the overall stock market is right now (e.g., the S&P 500 Index), what is the probability of the next 10%+ move in the stock market being up? If I assign a 20% probability of this happening (which means I think there’s an 80% probability of the stock market going down by this much), then I adjust my investment account such that 20% is invested (and 80% remains in cash or other low risk alternatives). I invest in individual stocks, index funds, and other stock alternatives at times. Index funds tend to move with the market indexes they track while individual stocks tend to exaggerate the moves higher or lower by the market indexes.
  • Case #3: If my investment account is only 50% invested in the stock market, then I ask myself: based on where the overall stock market is right now (e.g., the S&P 500 Index), is it more likely for the next 10%+ move in the stock market to be up (Case #2 above) or down (Case #1 above)? I then assign a probability and make adjustments to my investment account accordingly as shown above.

 It’s not easy assigning probabilities (and being right), so many people might be tempted to just stay put. However, you should at least be mindful of the appropriate risk you should be taking given where you are today. If you are a long way from reaching your financial goal, then a majority of your investment account should be invested in the stock market for much of the time (Case #1 above). If you are close to reaching your financial goal, then a majority of your investment account should be cashed out or invested in low risk alternatives for much of the time (Case #2 above).  

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/).

Make it your goal to learn these investment techniques so that you can progress towards achieving the financial freedom and independence you’ve always dreamed of.

#stocks #investing #stockmarket #success

A DISCIPLINED APPROACH TO INVESTING USING PERCENTAGES AND PROBABILITIES

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

I wanted to offer something which might be helpful to some of you because a lot of people are freaking out about the stock market right now. But there is opportunity no matter what happens in the stock market. One of the worst things you can be as an investor is an emotional investor. So, try to get your emotions out of it and execute with a sense of discipline. Here’s a disciplined investing approach you can try which I’ve used which might be helpful:

  • Case #1: If a majority of your investment account is invested in the stock market, ask yourself, based on where the overall stock market is right now (e.g., the S&P 500 Index is what I frequently use), what is the probability of the next 10%+ move in the stock market being down? If you assign a 15% probability of this happening (which means you think there’s an 85% probability of the stock market going up by this much), then adjust your investment account such that 15% of it is in cash (or other low risk alternatives).
  • Case #2: If a majority of your investment account has been cashed out, ask yourself the opposite: based on where the overall stock market is right now (e.g., the S&P 500 Index), what is the probability of the next 10%+ move in the stock market being up? If you assign a 20% probability of this happening (which means you think there’s an 80% probability of the stock market going down by this much), then adjust your investment account such that 20% is invested (and 80% remains in cash or other low risk alternatives).  You can invest in individual stocks, index funds, and other stock alternatives. Index funds tend to move with the market indexes they track while individual stocks tend to exaggerate the moves higher or lower by the market indexes.  
  • Case #3: If your investment account is only 50% invested in the stock market, then ask yourself: based on where the overall stock market is right now (e.g., the S&P 500 Index), is it more likely for the next 10%+ move in the stock market to be up (Case #2 above) or down (Case #1 above)? You would then assign a probability and make adjustments to your investment account accordingly as shown above.  

It’s not easy assigning probabilities (and being right), so many people might be tempted to just stay put. However, you should at least be mindful of the appropriate risk you should be taking given where you are today. If you are a long way from reaching your  financial goal, then a majority of your investment account should be invested in the stock market for much of the time (Case #1 above). If you are close to reaching your  financial goal, then a majority of your investment account should be cashed out or invested in low risk alternatives for much of the time (Case #2 above).

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/).

Make it your goal to learn these investment techniques so that you can progress towards achieving the financial freedom and independence you’ve always dreamed of.

#stocks #investing #stockmarket #success

PROTECTING GAINS IS PARAMOUNT TO INVESTING SUCCESS

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Always be cautious about finance and investing statistics. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read something like: “Stock X fell 75% last year and is now up 150% this year!”

Hooray! Let’s break out the wine glasses then! Oh, but wait a minute. If I started out with $100 on Stock X, and it dropped 75%, that means I ended the year with $25.00. Now, if Stock X has jumped 150% this year, that means I now only have about $62.50 which is still about 38% less than what I started with.

Yeah. You might want to put those wine glasses away for another couple of years or so. This is why when you are nearing your investment goals that protecting your gains becomes of the utmost importance. So, always remember this, learn this valuable lesson, and don’t be misled by finance and investing statistics such as the above.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/).

Make it your goal to learn these investment techniques so that you can progress towards achieving the financial freedom and independence you’ve always dreamed of.

#stocks #investing #stockmarket #success

ONE KEY TO INVESTING SUCCESS IS FLEXIBILITY OF APPROACH

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

I would argue that perhaps the worst trait you can have as an investor is overconfidence. Many investors who experience outsized gains, attribute this success to their superior knowledge, skills, and expertise. The resulting overconfidence often leads to excessive risk taking and catastrophic failures in future years.

It’s okay to make an educated guess on how you think things might go and to position yourself accordingly, but never bank on it 100%. Because the finance and investing world is influenced by a complex, dynamic multitude of variables. And while some of these might be somewhat apparent, many others will not be. And the combined interactions and overall effects across these can result in outcomes far different than you might have initially anticipated.

So, while I do spend time trying to predict how things might go and positioning myself accordingly, it’s never 100%. If I feel very strongly about something, I might go as far as 70% (if that). I then simply observe and react to whatever happens instead of sticking to some static initial position.

As such, either way things go – whether up or down – I always have a plan. If the opposite happens from what I anticipated and positioned for, I’ll still earn gains. Just not as much as I would had things gone my way. And it’s this flexibility of approach which can lead to steady and consistent gains over time. Because you never know what might actually happen even though you might think you do. And coming to this realization can be one of the most important lessons you can learn as an investor. Simply have a plan no matter which way things might go and react to whatever happens however it happens. If you do this, you will earn steady and consistent gains over the years and decades of your life.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/).

Make it your goal to learn these investment techniques so that you can progress towards achieving the financial freedom and independence you’ve always dreamed of.

#stocks #investing #stockmarket #success

HAPPINESS TIP: EMBODY AN ATTITUDE THAT EMPOWERS SUCCESS

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.


Most people consider knowledge, skills, and expertise to be the key determinants of one’s success in life. And while these aspects certainly do contribute to one’s success, I would argue there are two underappreciated factors which probably contribute much more to success than most people realize or give credit for:

Luck. The under appreciation of the role luck plays in the successes experienced in life often leads to overconfidence in one’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Most people who experience outsized success, attribute this success to their own superior knowledge and expertise. The resulting overconfidence often leads to excessive risk taking and catastrophic failures and outcomes. Daniel Kahneman in his outstanding book, “Thinking Fast and Slow,” indicates that poor performance is typically followed by improvement. Likewise, good performance tends to be followed by underperformance. Each of these are due to random effects alone. This is why many of the best fund managers, athletes, and CEOs celebrated one year, tend to underperform in future years and why the worst performers often outperform their peers in the years that follow. Kahneman identified multiple studies in his book which supported this. It’s simply a reversion to the mean effect.

Attitude. Having a positive attitude towards yourself, towards others, and towards life overall is instrumental for success and is something I never take for granted. If you are the type of person who genuinely cares about others, cares about the planet, cares about yourself, generously shares what you have with others, and lives with a sense of genuine appreciation then success is virtually guaranteed. The more you fill your life with caring, sharing, and appreciation, the happier you will feel and the more rewarding your life will become. Three ways to achieve this include thinking good, doing good, and being good:

  • Thinking good involves having positive thoughts towards yourself, towards others, and towards the planet whether focusing on the past, present, or future.

  • Doing good involves making positive contributions towards others and towards your surroundings.

  • Being good involves having a positive disposition and a good-hearted nature as well as a high level of integrity.


Filling your life with caring, sharing, and appreciation in these regards not only creates a happier you, but also creates happier surroundings, success, and abundance throughout the months, years, and decades of your life. 

Of the above factors, I would argue that attitude is the key determinant of success and that this is probably more important than the other two factors combined. For example, if you have been following my investment related activities (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities/) you know that this year I have experienced outsized gains in the stock market. And while most people would tout their superior knowledge and skills as being the primary factor for their success, I attribute this success much more to attitude than knowledge or skill.

For example, anytime something great happens for me, financially speaking (or otherwise), I’m a big believer in using at least part of the proceeds to offer unique opportunities to others. I create a Beneficiaries Reserve Fund for this purpose which I add to over time.

Essentially, the way my Beneficiaries Reserve Fund works is this: I have a financial target to meet and if I exceed that target, then half of the excess amount goes to me for personal use and the other half goes to the Beneficiaries Reserve Fund. It’s just a promise I’ve made to myself and kept over my years of investing.

Well, I’ve been building up this fund over several years and on the 4th of March I decided to put it to good use by helping someone who has struggled for years with a large amount of debt and high-interest-rate credit cards. I simply wanted to offer this person the stress-free experience of living debt free and the wonderful peace and joy and freedom that it brings. Earlier that day, I had earned a 13% gain on my investments. What’s interesting is what happened after I made that decision. As of Thursday (9 April), my gains had sky rocketed to 64% in only a month’s time. I earned much more in those four weeks than everything I had offered to help the friend in need. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I don’t live my life believing in coincidences. And although luck and skills might have played a role, I believe the largest factor was due to attitude and the way I live my life.

And the above is just one example of the many times I’ve been blessed with happiness and success in my life. For another recent example, a year ago I sold my house for $335,000 and used the proceeds to buy CDs paying 3.2% interest. Well, when I checked recently, the value of the house I sold was only $280,000. So, had I waited to sell, not only would I have sold it for much less but the CDs I bought would have paid about half of what I got a year ago.

I make it a daily habit to extend kindness, to be appreciative, and to value and care for the planet (humans and non-humans alike). I won’t get into the details in this post, but for those who might have interest, you can read a summarized version of the “JOE BRENNAN GRAND PHILOSOPHY ON LIFE” here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-tip-how-to-create-a-happy-priceless-beautiful-life-which-costs-nothing/ 

Try living your life this way and see if you don’t become blessed and showered and empowered with success and happiness in ways you never thought, imagined, or dreamed was possible. This is something which never ceases to amaze me and it’s happened many, many times throughout the years and decades of my life. So, I encourage you to live your life in this fashion. You won’t regret it. Because there is not one day that goes by where I am not filled with an overabundance of joy and loving appreciation for all my life has become. So, be kind to others, be appreciative, and care for the planet and you might be amazed at just how wonderful your life becomes. Because you will create happier surroundings, a happier you, and be continually blessed in the months, years, and decades to come. So do this for yourself (and others). And do it often.

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


#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #peace #mindfulness #investing #stocks

HAPPINESS TIP: OFFER GUILT-FREE GIVING AT ITS FINEST!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

“Make a Friend Smile Day”. That’s the special occasion I created years ago as the perfect excuse to offer guilt-free giving to people going through significant financial difficulties and hardships but are just too proud to ask or accept this help. The only catch is the friend must smile when using the gift because, well, there’d be no reason to have a “Make a Friend Smile Day” if the friend didn’t smile.

Consider doing something like this for people in your life from time to time who could just use a reason to smile. A lot a people would benefit from such a gesture – especially with all of the Covid-19 issues we’re dealing with now.

I plan to buy several Publix gift cards over the next few weeks and have a “make a friend smile day” production! I hope some of you will do the same!

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

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

HAPPINESS TIP: GIVE EVERYTHING THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES (AND NOTHING MORE)!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

You can lead a rich and rewarding life by making yourself a priority and focusing on that which truly matters and disregarding the rest. So, DO NOT spend another moment doing meaningless things whether it’s a senseless task at work or home, something you’ve been invited to that you have no interest in, or somebody else’s drama or gossip which you could care less about. A great, stress-free way to handle anything you encounter in life is to simply GIVE IT THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES (AND NOTHING MORE)!

For example, if my boss gives me a pointless task I might respond, “Yes, boss. I’ll get right on that.” But if, in my opinion, it is truly a senseless task I might spend 10 minutes on it. If someone starts saying horrible things about someone else I might nod and say, “Well, it was nice seeing you,” and then be on my way. If someone else asks me to help out with something that I have no interest in I might say something like,  “I’m sorry but I’m going to be busy then,” and free up that time for something else which might be more rewarding or inspirational in nature. Another example involves posts on social media.

It’s quite concerning that much of the posts on social media are garbage. And each and every one of us, whether the readers or writers of such posts, need to take responsibility for considering the validity of these before communicating, commenting, taking actions, or propagating these. The first thing each of us need to be asking is, are good sources being cited and has sufficient fact-checking been done supporting the claims being made or are we writing or reading “empty, baseless posts” or “emotional outbursts.” I don’t care whether the posts are about Democrats, Republicans, Trump, Biden, Sanders, the Covid-19 virus, or anything else. If no credible sources are cited and no fact-checking is done then consider the posts you are writing or reading to be gossip, garbage, drama and a complete waste of everyone’s time and energy. Simply GIVE EVERYTHING THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES (AND NOTHING MORE)!

Anyone can post anything they want, but anyone who truly wants to base and communicate their judgments, opinions, and such on facts would identify good sources and do some fact-checking when communicating their positions. The amount of misinformation on social media creates mass confusion and can cause mass extreme reactions for no reason. We owe it to ourselves (and others) to identify credible sources and perform some fact-checking when communicating and consuming posts regarding concerns and potential issues.

And keep in mind that everything is debatable. We all need to be open to different viewpoints which are also based on alternate valid fact-based sources.

These are things each and everyone of us need to be mindful of. We owe it to ourselves (and others) to ONLY communicate, consume, and react to that which appears to be fact-based. Anything else is gossip, garbage, drama, and counterproductive.

And anytime you come across writers of such posts repeatedly be sure to “GIVE THEM THE ATTENTION THEY DESERVE (AND NOTHING MORE)!” Each and every time. Anytime I identify someone who repeatedly appears to be a post-writing, “baseless, gossiping, drama queen,” I treat anything they write from that point on as fairy tales and falsehoods which are laughable at best and not truly worthy of any attention at all. In fact, I’ll probably copy the link to this post as my response to these and write a polite message such as: “Thank you for that colorful post. Here is my response to that: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-tip-give-everything-the-attention-it-deserves-and-nothing-more/ . I hope all’s well with you and I wish you the very best (as always).” I encourage each and every one of you to do the same.

You can lead a happy, peaceful, stress-free life by simply giving things the attention they deserve all along the way. You don’t have to be involved with everything that comes your way or goes on around you. Especially that which seems pointless, baseless, is not well thought out, or doesn’t matter much. So many people spend so much of their lives inflating small things into big things without realizing they DO NOT have to participate. Simply step back, give it some thought, and give everything (and everyone) the attention it deserves and nothing more. Each and every time. You’re welcome.

Well, there you have it. Now, you know one of my life secrets. So, if at any time, you’re wondering why I’m not rushing out to buy that latest thing you told me about which will “change my life forever” or not following the “fantastic” advice you gave on social media, well, I might just be thinking: “Yeah. Thanks for that. I’m giving it the attention it deserves.”

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

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

HAPPINESS TIP: LIVE WITH A SENSE OF HOPE BUT DON’T RELY ON IT

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Here’s a Happiness Tip which might be helpful for some of you out there. Always live with a sense of hope but don’t rely on it or use it as an excuse for inaction.


So often in life do people communicate things such as “I’m hoping for the best,” or “I hope I don’t lose my job,” or “I hope my finances will work out,” or “I hope my relationship or marriage will work out,” or “I hope I get this job or can get into this training or education program.” Anytime someone communicates these kinds of things to me, I might respond with something like: “Are you really going to rely on hope for that? Because, being hopeful is probably not going to make things happen or make things better. So, what I really want to know is what you are going to do about it.” Because even though it’s nice to live with a sense of hope, it is not helpful or empowering to rely or count on hope or use it as an excuse for not doing something. A better approach is moving from hope to action.


The following are examples of empowering ways to do this:

  • Instead of just hoping for the best, take steps to make things better.
  • Instead of hoping you won’t lose your job (for whatever reason), investigate any problem areas and come up with solutions for addressing them (in an active and iterative fashion) and take steps to make yourself so valuable to your employer that it would be foolish to let you go or allow you to get into the hands of competitors.  
  • Instead of merely hoping your finances will work out, actively investigate and adjust your spending habits, develop a budget which better ensures you pay down your debts and accumulate savings every month, and live with a sense of discipline from week-to-week and month-to-month so that your finances improve and create the financial security you desire.
  • Instead of hoping your relationship or marriage will work out, take steps to become the best boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife through mindful appreciation, kindness, consideration, understanding, support, and thoughtfulness and making the other person feel special, loved, valued, and secure each and every day.

  • Instead of hoping that you get a certain job, actively research the company to determine what their values, interests, focuses, initiatives, and products and services are (as well as what is important to them), find out the latest news stories associated with the company, and be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge of the company in these regards and show how your values, skills, and experience can benefit the company to ensure you are viewed as a highly qualified and highly desired candidate for employment.

  • Instead of hoping you can get into a given training or education program, do some research and take steps to ensure you have a pretty good chance of getting into the program you desire.


Each of these are ways in which to empower yourself by taking actions instead of relying on hope to get you to where you want to be. Because, in most cases, hope alone won’t get you there. But hope combined with action might. Be sure to always remember this.  So, continue living with a sense of hope but don’t rely on it or use it as an excuse for not taking steps towards improvement, progress, or success. And although nothing is guaranteed, living in this fashion greatly improves the likelihood of improvement, progress, and success. Thus, you will realize many more “wins” and “gains” over the months, years, and decades of your life if you operate in this fashion.


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 #mindfulness #peace #love #relationships #discipline #balance #joy #optimism #positivethinking

HAPPINESS TIP – LIVING IN THE MOMENT CAN BE DETRIMENTAL AT TIMES… HERE’S WHY:

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Here’s a Happiness Tip which might be helpful for some of you out there regarding present-mindedness and why it can be detrimental at times.

So often in life we are encouraged to “live in the moment,” “be present,” and “seize the day!” (i.e., “carpe diem!”) – among other, similar, popular kinds of expressions. And while living in this fashion can be helpful at times for easing worries, distress, and negativity, and creating a momentary sense of peace and enjoyment, there are also times when it can do more harm than good. Especially, during those times when we fall victim to temptations, addictions, compulsions,  distractions (TACDs), and procrastination.

Years ago I had a computer game addiction. It seemed fun and exhilarating in the micro moment-to-moment but when “zooming out” to the more macro level, I realized after playing such games all night – every night – that these kinds of activities were consuming my life to the point where they created extensive stress, fatigue, anxiety, and a lack of performance and progress in other areas of my life. Many temptation, addiction,  compulsion, distraction, and procrastination challenges do the same. Several examples come to mind:

  • spending money “seizing the day!” – every day – so there is nothing put towards the future,
  • drugs, alcohol, and other kinds of temptations and addictions,
  • anything which consumes more of life than one might like such as sports, social media, information or media content, television, social activities, money related obsessions, the internet, video games, cleaning, sex, work (in the case of workaholics), or activities (in the case of “doaholics”), and
  • anything and everything delayed or avoided due to procrastination.

Living in the moment – or a day at a time – can seem a pleasure paradise for anyone experiencing challenges such as the above because living in this fashion can lead people to believe they are living happy, successful, productive lives when – in actuality – they are not.

“How can you tell?” someone might ask. Well, one thing you can do is “zoom out” and examine your overall life from time to time. When doing this, ask yourself something like: “Am I progressing towards longer term happiness and success in my work, relationships, activities, goals, and my life overall?” If you’re not, then you might be falling victim to a “live in the moment” or “carpe diem!” mentality. Such a mentality can be a great excuse for taking detours and not moving forward in life but will never get you to where you desire to go over the longer term. Ask any addict, procrastinator, or exuberant spender.

A good way to address TACD and procrastination challenges is taking steps to moderate or eliminate anything which might be holding you back or consuming more of your life than you might like. Let’s take the computer games addiction above as an example. One way to moderate such an activity might be to limit participation such that you allow yourself to only play computer games on Wednesday and Friday nights from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. In my case, I elected to eliminate computer games completely. However, I could have simply limited my participation in these kinds of activities.

Some of the above TACD and procrastination challenges can be handled by simply moderating them while others – such as more severe addictions – might need to be eliminated completely. Do what works best for you or those you are providing assistance to.

Now, while it can certainly be helpful at times to “live in the present,” for easing periods of worry, distress, and negativity, and for creating a momentary sense of peace and enjoyment in life, there are also times when it can do more harm than good. So, get into the practice of “zooming out” and examining your overall life from time to time to ensure you are progressing towards the longer term happiness, harmony, and success you truly desire in life and taking steps to address any problem areas you find along the way. What a wonderful life you (and others) will create and share if you live in this fashion.

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/


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