The Mob Mentality and How I am Dealing
This is an opinion piece that includes religion. I want to make clear that I value each of my individual readers and I hold no judgment against any chosen belief structure out there. If you read this blog, you are intelligent. If anything in this post offends someone out there, please disregard it. The normally scheduled psych/inspire stuff will return tomorrow.
One wealthy friend has lost over 100 grand in the stock market. Other family members have frantically pulled their money out in fear. Every day I read on Yahoo! news that the market has plunged another 7-800 points. these are records since the great depression. I have no money in the stock market, but if I did I think I would let it sit. Unofrtunately, no one is doing that. It is a mob mentality like a playground fight. One kid takes a swing at another, then the mob comes in shouting “fight fight fight.”
Before you know it it’s a brawl like you never imagined. People are giving up on America the same way. We have some friends who have started a “Bible Study” of which the curriculum consists of guilt tactics to get people to go to church. Let me be very clear that this is not my sort of curriculum. My personal belief is that God is not concerned if you go to church. However, I will tell you I live by a strong backbone of the Christian faith I was raised in. I don’t go to church much these days and I rarely read the bible but I know what it says quite well. In times like these when the world is crumbling around us I hold on to one mantra (I’ll modify it for civil/non-religious folks and then give the one I use as a Christian):
Civil: Be still.
What we all can do about the mob mentailty of pulling out of the stock market is to be still. I think most people would agree there are some great mantras in the bible, whether or not you profess to follow it in its entirety.
Religious: Be still and know that God is God
When a relative or friend calls you today expressing fear and panic about the mess we are in, be still. This too shall pass. In the end, the mob will be injured or dead … your peace of mind will be intact and God will still be God. I’ve said a lot here, your thoughts are more than welcome.
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Tags: America, depression, financial meltdown, leadership, Spirituality, wall street
I guess one upside not having a whole lot of money, is not having to worry about your money in the stock market, right? I guess you can’t escape it, though, retirement funds and everything are all tied up in that.
I saw on the news that if you were planning to retire in 5 years or less, you were supposed to put your money into much more secure investments. If you have 20 or so years until retirement, it was wiser to stay where you are and ride it out.
This whole thing frightens me!!! Hey, I linked to some of your articles today in my post, Chaos and Disorder, about Bipolar Awareness Day.
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Yeah, I have a pension as a teacher I pay into, I assume that is safe? Who knows. Thanks for the links, as you know blogspot is blocked here at work but I will check it out when I get home.
I know that the tension around work has really risen as people are figuring out that their 401k’s and retirement plans have lost so much. It is pretty hard to keep your cool when the plans for the future aren’t looking very bright.
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Agreed. But just like flexing a muscle, having hope takes effort sometimes.
What great wisdom. I find that you tactfully dealt with this subject as you are focusing on universal principles, with the exception of whether someone believes in God. That’s up to them. We sure can get our underwear in a knot if we react. What you’ve offered me is to take the gap between stimulus and response and widen it up. Take a breather. Don’t overreact. Thanks for the reminder.
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You are welcome. Reaction can be a negative word in some situation.
I agree that the best advice is to usually sit tight and see what happens before making any rash decisions…As far as the current situation, I have a little bit of money in the market and I have taken a considerable hit lately, however, I am leaving the money there because I don’t need it anytime in the near future and believe that it will go back up and also because at these lower prices, dividends that are reinvested are buying more :)
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You know, I never thought about people buying low! This could be a boon for them if the market recovers.
I am currently staying with a friend who has about 1/2 his money in the stock market (diversified, of course). I don’t know his holdings or how much he has in any particular fund, and don’t really want to know. In past, “adjustments”, “capitulations” (whatever you want to call it), he’s stayed quite calm, preferring to “ride it out”. However, with the continuing plunge, I have noticed an air of panic in what he says, and the ” worst case scenario that’s going to come to fruition” (if the trend continues as it is now). All that type of thinking, “airing of laundry”, perpetuates worry in the mind of people within earshot, that choose to “buy in”.
I, on the other hand, have no money at all in the market. (though, I do have a small amount in a brokerage account, I have never acted on, and was involved with the last bubble burst in 2000). I find my outlook/opinion/perspective is one of not really paying it much heed. Kind of the “Be Still” as mentioned by the OP, and putting your mind to better use than to continually worry/fret about something that is much bigger than us. The market waters are like the ocean– they can either be gentle or be stirred up by a large scale hurricane. Right now, there are a lot of hurricanes passing overhead. Things will settle out, a bottom will be found. there are going to be a lot of financial casualties, and many companies that go under. But, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and without foresight, they are where they are. You can’t go back and grab the past. It’s over with. You only have the now to deal with.
Whatever happens, happens. There’s not much you can do about it… and I’d rather fill my mind with other things, like sports, learning the game of bridge, working on websites, and doing an occasional massage or two.
I think it is easier for those of us who have no money in the stock market. I noticed on Yahoo! news today that today more people pulled out than ever.
and then, you know, Damien, a bunch of bottom feeders came in in the last hour to wipe out all the losses, and make the INDU go green for a while, before spilling over with more sellers. I’m sure there’ll be more bottom feeders contemplating jumping in next week.
The mob mentality is in full force. My friend still has his money in thinking the capitulation is close, but still might not be complete. I’m still on the sidelines, thinking a turnaround is not happening yet…
Even if it goes down some more, it will come back to higher than where it is now before too long…if you get in now, you might not make as much as if you get in at the very bottom, but you will still come out ahead in the end…and if this is the bottom, it’s only going up from here and the longer you wait the worse off you’ll be.
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I will “be still” my friend. The stock market isn’t what scares me. It will come around again. What scares me is when my husband comes home from lunch and says, “The layoffs begin next Thursday.”
I’m going to go be still for awhile.
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That is very scary. My mom and dad aren’t ready financially to retire from real estate and yet my Dad lost his job last month. He was a sales manager. Keeping optimism is their main goal. Keep hope alive and everything will work out.
I have some money in stocks, and I am letting it sit there. It is all old companies such as Proctor and Gamble so I am not worried. As a matter of fact I have decided to take the money I waste daily on coffee, energy drinks, and junk while I am out and invest it. It was money I was throwing away anyway and maybe I can by low and be better off in a few years when this is all finally done and the economy is on the upswing.