I have often written about my fixation on doing things that please me 🙂 This has become a #1 priority in my life over the last few years. It is why I do this blog. It is why I read. It is why I run. It is why I do most of what I do.
And yes, it is why I study investing.
In fact, my wife and I have this inside joke that all she has to do was say “STOCK MARKET!” and I will perk up like a kid. The funny thing is it actually works (at least to make me laugh). It is like a code word for “what pleases Chris,” like “ice cream” or “baseball” or “G.I. Joe” would have done for me when I was ten. Moreover, it has gained a general meaning between us for saying something to interrupt our thinking if we are off-target and need to find our happy thought.
I’m humble enough to realize that there is nothing inherent about investing that is universally pleasing. Obviously, people’s interests vary, as mine have over time. What topic lights you up? Maybe it’s hiking, or fishing, or the NFL, or ice cream. For my wife, it’s kittens… or these days maybe Tik-Tok videos (many of which include kittens).
I could certainly list the reasons why investing works for me. But at the end of the day, the reason it works is that it works.
Does your kid need to analyze why he or she likes ice cream? The fact is, the subject of my investing is fun for me!
Good enough.
If and when that changes, I will shift my interest to other things. But right now, I revel in it.
And the bigger point I keep on driving home on this blog is that one should think about things that feel good. No matter what that is!
So for the time being I will just keep thinking about my investing. And you can think about your ice cream 😉