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Most adults have a vague recollection of what happened in kindergarten. It’s fair to say that most of us would agree that kindergarten was a new, exciting experience that triggered different emotions and was a great foundation for our learning lives. Valuable life lessons were taught at that tender age. Today I will attempt to apply them to your current life as an Investor. Here are the top 8 things that you learnt in Kindergarten that will help you with your investments.
Social Skills
1. Ask for help
It is easy to think that you can achieve your desired investment goals alone. After all, the cyber world has made it easier for information to reach you as the world now operates online and most investment information is at your fingertips.
With that thought in mind, it’s still essential that you ask for advice from experts regarding setting up precise investment strategies for you and your family. It is advisable that you engage qualified experts like financial advisers or mortgage brokers to be part of your overall investment plan.
2. Take responsibility for your own belongings (hat, stationery etc)
If you are a parent or grandparent, you would know the emphasis placed on having well-labelled school items. With the ever-increasing cost of living, parents and carers are left with no choice but to teach children to be more vigilant. In investment the same holds true. It is important that you invest in what you know and like.
As an investor, it is your responsibility to make an informed choice or decision before entering into any investment. You need to take full ownership of your choices and be able to take the responsibility for where put your money. Be reminded that you are building for your future and that of your loved ones therefore, own it.
“Never invest in a business you cannot understand” – Warren Buffett
The art of helping kindergarten kids to be responsible for their belongings is easier with fun & creative labelling of personalised stickers.
Only when you combine sound intellect with emotional discipline do you get rational behaviour… Warren Buffett
3. Regulate emotions properly and put feelings in words
Avoid making emotional investments but rather base your investment decision on metrics and proven data where feasible.
Try to use more logical, rational and emotion-free decisions. It’s in the clarity that you will be able to achieve what you have envisioned. We fully acknowledge that emotions are an essential part of humans and that some of our greatest accomplishments as human beings have come from being in tune with our passion and inner selves.
However, when it comes to investments, emotions rather than rationality sometimes get the better of us. In Kindergarten, we were taught to regulate emotions at all times. For example, we were taught not to cry for other kids’ possessions and be content with what we had.
Related: Property Investment For Beginners – An Introduction
Motor Skills
4. Building using blocks
One of the essential skills that determine whether your growing person is ready for the gigantic big school step is to test the ability to build using blocks.
Well, that test didn’t just end when you were 5 years old; you can still apply it to your investment life today. As an investor, you are encouraged to take diversification seriously in order to reduce the risk you take.
Use a number of building blocks to join together to build your bigger financial picture. As the saying goes, ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’
5. Putting puzzles together
Investment decisions in most cases require some reasonable amount of research, reading and analysis. The same acumen and analytic skills that you used in kindergarten to solve all those fun puzzles to impress the teacher are still essential today as an investor.
It’s always the small pieces that make the big picture
What you end up opting to invest in needs to fit into your bigger picture. This is something you can achieve or put together with the help of your desired finance expert.
Reasoning & Concept Development
6. Showing an understanding of the concept of the passing of time
When you set out on the journey of being a sound and informed investor it is important to understand that time is of the essence when speaking of this subject. It is advisable to invest for the long term.
As most good things take time to come to full fruition. You do not invest today and expect returns tomorrow but rather, in the future. Hence, the need to keep your day job and not rely on investment income.
7. Experiment enthusiastically with toys and games, sometimes in a trial-and-error manner
There is no certainty in most things in life, except for ‘death and taxes’, as mentioned by Benjamin Franklin in 1789. This thought holds true in the world of investing especially when you have a strong appetite for risky strategies.
Individuals like that are willing to test the market with a full understanding that they might stand the chance to lose or win most of their money.
They take on trial-and-error decisions to try and predict market behaviour. In most cases, the perceived monetary reward they stand to receive is far much greater than the risk. Hence, the reason why they do it.
“successful investing is about managing risk, not avoiding it” – Benjamin Graham
Language Skills
8. Asking questions and expressing curiosity
To be a brilliant investor you need to have an inquisitive mind. Always ask questions and be curious about what is working and not doing so well. Be well informed and seek to be involved in your investment plans. ‘We stop living when we stop learning and asking questions’, Albert Einstein. Information is powerful when you get it from the right source.
Sum It All Up
It is clear that they are valuable lessons we learnt in Kindergarten that we carry forward to our adulthood. What childhood foundations are you thankful for and still utilise today? Please share your brilliant stories in the comment section below. As always, l value your feedback and till next time “never stop learning”.
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