NeuroInvesting: Build a New Investing Brain

CHAPTER 5

How Did Fear Get Here?

EXPECTATIONS, LETDOWNS, AND ANXIETY

Fear is one big gigantic emotion that we all experience. There is no escape. The differences among us lie only in how much, how often, and at what times we experience fear . . . and whether we are able to use fear for our benefit. This is our unique individual fear print. Some wish to have nothing to do with it, and others wish they had more fear, in order to avoid trouble.

We can't eliminate fear, and neither should we wish to. It is the tension that we will examine. To allow fear to benefit us, we first need to understand why we fear and what our fear print is.

A Big Expectation

Fear often stems from the expectations we have formed and the failure of our surroundings in meeting them.

If you are an astronomy enthusiast, this experience of Dr. Oey and the total solar eclipse will resonate with you. The eclipse occurs only once in four years, for but a few short minutes (in this instance, only two minutes).

Dr. Oey and his wife had been preparing for the November 2012 eclipse for more than a year. This eclipse was more special to him than any other because it could be best viewed on his home ground, Cairns. Flights and lodging were all booked and ready for his view of the total solar eclipse.

The anticipation was unbearable. The night before the viewing Dr. Oey was so excited he could barely fall asleep. As he was about to doze off, it began to drizzle. He had to make a decision whether to drive for three hours ...