Priming for Engaged Positivity
Is it just me, or is the financial news even more negative than usual right now? We hear about recessions, bear markets, inflation, rising interest rates, geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and more every day.
It’s exhausting.
But it also makes me curious because it seems to me that things are pretty good right now, despite the Cassandras on CNBC.
Did you know that the unemployment rate just hit a 54-year low? That’s incredible, right? A multi-decade low in the unemployment rate doesn’t seem very recessionary.
Here’s another one: 85% of homeowners have a mortgage below 5%. In other words, part of the housing slowdown is certainly a hesitancy to buy at higher mortgage rates, but the other side of the coin is that current homeowners don’t want to sell because of their incredibly low housing costs.
From the March Client Letter:
The stories we tell ourselves can cause stress. This is compounded by something called ‘negativity bias,’ our brain’s propensity to scan our environments for risk continually. As you can imagine, negativity bias was beneficial when saber-toothed tigers were roaming outside the camp. Unfortunately, it causes issues in our modern environment when we are inundated with information from a 24-hour news cycle and our ever-expanding digital lives.
In Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change, researcher and former news broadcaster Michelle Gielan advocates for ‘fact checking’ to combat negativity bias or overwhelming stories like a journalist might. The idea is to accurately assess the present and empower you to make decisions that benefit your future.
I think part of our job as planning-focused financial advisors is to help our clients fact-check their stories so that they can positively engage in bettering their future. If we feel the energy from negative financial news, imagine how our clients feel!
I also think a core virtue of a trusted advisor is optimism. We must believe in our client’s financial future. We must stay positive when the skies darken, and the waves roll in.
I’m not advocating for anyone to stick their heads in the sand. It is a pragmatic optimism dependent on our trust in financial markets, the power of compounding, and the value of comprehensive financial planning.
Fact-checking with an optimistic mindset is about continually asking questions and reframing the stories in our heads. What’s missing? What opportunities exist? What’s going right? How might we reframe this?
Thinking through facts is a precious skill when considering your finances and future goals. Unfortunately, getting stuck in the muck of negativity with your financial life is easy. Thoughts like ‘I’ll never have enough” or “I won’t be able to achieve that goal’ can bog us down.
But, when we reassess the story, we might realize our conclusions depend on the biases in our heads rather than a complete set of facts.
As planning-focused financial advisors, this is also where we can play a meaningful role in helping you think through your present concerns and future opportunities. A financially savvy third party can serve as a treasured thought partner. We hope you agree!
Continued in this month’s white-labeled client letter.
Remember, the client letters are yours to use, edit, and/or copy however you like as long as they are only directly mailed or emailed to your clients (no blogs or social media posts).
Your Cause is Righteous.
Your white-labeled monthly client newsletter is linked below. Just click on the Dropbox link and download it from there. A whole bunch of disclosures is included at the bottom of this email, but I urge you to follow these simple guardrails:
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