When markets get volatile, patience is often misunderstood.

It does not mean doing nothing or ignoring what is happening. It definitely does not mean being passive.

Patience is an active skill.

When markets move around, the natural human response is to want to act. We feel the urge to change something to make us feel like we are in control. The truth is that we cannot control the markets. What we need to control is our behaviour in times of stress.

As Javad Mian put it recently: “Patience requires awareness. You are paying attention to what is unfolding, not just in markets, but in yourself.”

Real patience is being aware of that urge and choosing to trust your long-term process instead of reacting to the need for short-term discomfort.

The hard part is that good decisions do not always feel good in the moment. You do not see the reward straight away. More often than not, the right move is simply to let time do the work, rather than trying to force the timing.

Patience is the ability to sit with uncertainty of moving markets and negative news flow. There will be no clear signal telling you what to do next. There will be a lot of noise that will distract you.

That uncertainty is uncomfortable. It is also where most long-term results come from.

Over time, patience stops feeling like hesitation or inaction. It feels like sticking to what we know works, even when the moment makes that hard.

In investing, that difference makes all the difference.

 

Written by Marius Kilian

 

Sources:

* javad@stray-reflections.com