Imagine there are 100 miles between you and a goal: a place you want to get to. The land in between is chock full of canyons, crevasses, and crumbling cliffs. You have two choices of how you could get there.
You could find a way on foot, sliding into ravines and trudging up switchbacks.
Or you could float above it all in a hot air balloon. The wind would carry you across.
Which way would you choose to travel? So often, we feel at the mercy of markets and the economy. It feels like a treacherous path through a chaotic landscape. The news cycle, with its constant updates and urgent headlines, can make it feel like we’re always heading toward a dangerous edge.
When we’re stuck down in the canyons, looking up at sheer rock faces without a cairn in sight, it’s hard to know which way to go. Imagine if you could fly above it. Your perspective shifts. Deep canyons with fast-moving rapids become majestic vistas. The rugged terrain is laid out before you.
By shifting perspectives and taking flight, you have a wider, broader view of the landscape. Markets and the economy are the same way. We can feel at the mercy of every rally and correction, or we can choose to float above it all. Reducing the frequency we check the news and the daily market action is one such way. Another is to center your investing decisions on a long-term financial plan.
Uncertainties that we can’t control still exist. We have to cross the same challenging terrain. Yet we control our own perspective about investing and view it through a higher-altitude lens. We believe the rewards of that broader perspective are substantial as we invest towards long-range goals.
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Low-altitude vs. High-altitude Perspectives
