A challenge can be disarming the behavior that can derail us from our investing goals. Robroy Wiley, Investor Coach at SmartPlan Investing, shares a short story about Michael Phelps and what happened at the Olympic games.
Short story referenced from " The Power of Habit – Why we do what we do in life and business." – Charles Duhigg
Did you know Michael Phelps world record was won by swimming the olympic race blind?
How did he disarm our natural default behavior to panic?
Just imagine, there's Michael Phelps at the start of the race, everything is fine. The usual routine.
When he hits the water, immediately his goggles start to fill up. Total black out. Can't see the bottom of the pool, or the wall. Michael has to count his strokes.
He did not deviate from his coach's strategy. He did not panic and stayed the course.
Michael's mindset was only to move forward. His coach had prepped him for scenarios, just like this.
If Michael Phelps had panicked, there would have been no Olympic gold medal and world's record.
It's why as an investor coach, the challenge is in helping my clients disarm those behaviors that can derail them from reaching their investing goals.
It's one of the most difficult pieces. That's what I am here for.