Different Habits
Read Time / 2 Minutes
Theme / Behavioral Finance
20% of the population are habitual nail biters. At least, that’s what various research results suggest from a simple google search.
“You bite your finger nails?! Gross!” you may think, and you aren’t necessarily wrong. Yet, people like me, find great comfort in this childhood habit.
According to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, there are four stages of a habit:
Cue
Craving
Response
Reward
Jesus had habits. Though we don’t know much about His manicure ritual, Jesus was known to often “slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:16), and you would likely be able to find Him at “the synagogue on the Sabbath” maybe reading and/or teaching (Luke 4:16). Jesus said He valued the Father, and His actions backed up His words.
Investors have habits. Carl Richards, author of The Behavior Gap, shares a story of three clients who dropped by his office in Spring of 2009. Concerned about the market conditions (and rightfully so), they requested to sell their investments due to poor performance. A couple years later, after the market rebounded, those same clients asked Carl if they should be investing more of their cash since stocks had been performing so well. Many have memorized the popular adage — Buy low, sell high. Yet, in the heat of market volatility (as in the previous example), it proves to be challenging to execute.
Everyone has habits. The reality is some of our practices move us closer to our life goals while others take us away. It’s important to reflect on our actions to confirm we are going the direction we want. Proverbs 4:26 tells us to, “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.” At Christian Wealth Management, we believe everything is the Lord’s, and we value His input above all else. The use of Biblically Responsible Investments and Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps are two practices that help align our decisions with our values. Both processes remind us God owns it all.
I enjoy working on having healthier coping habits, and as a result, I’m ready to put my nail biting days behind me. Although the bitter tasting nail polish I’ve applied makes me think twice before biting, stress still exists. Now, I’m aware of an opportunity to work through this stress with prayer and action. One of these actions is finding an alternative stress release. Amazon will be delivering a hand grip and fidget toy shortly. Nice nails, here I come!
Ryan De Amicis
Wealth Advisor
408.758.6413
ryan@christianwm.com
