A Little Bit of Stress could do a World of Good…
Not a lot. Just a little bit.
“Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.” ―Bill Phillips
(I understand that the world is divided about vaccination and hence I’d invite you to consider my example about COVID vaccines from an analogical perspective, and not an ideological or a political one)
mRNA vaccines have been a godsend to many and we ought to thank Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for this commercial breakthrough. What’s even more exciting is how the vaccine works -
It contains material from the virus that causes COVID-19 that gives our cells instructions for how to make a harmless protein that is unique to the virus. After our cells make copies of the protein, they destroy the genetic material from the vaccine. Our bodies recognize that the protein should not be there and build T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight the virus that causes COVID-19 if we are infected in the future. - cdc.gov
In simple terms, you willingly go through the discomfort of vaccination, in order to trigger the body’s response of building white blood cells, in preparation for future instances of being infected by COVID.
In much simpler terms, it refers to short-term stress = long-term gains.
Our body is the most intelligent system on this planet. It is capable of repairing itself, strengthening itself, healing itself, protecting itself, and even regenerating itself. I won’t go into the science behind the previous statement but let me provide you a glimpse into it.
Fasting #
The switch between eating normally and fasting causes cells to temporarily experience lower-than-usual levels of glucose (blood sugar), and they are forced to begin using other sources of less readily available energy, like fatty acids.
This can cause the cells to turn on survival processes to remove the unhealthy mitochondria and replace them with healthy ones over time, thus reducing the production of free radicals in the long term and improving cellular repair processes. - Blue Zones
Fasting has been proven to result in various other benefits -
Higher levels of Human Growth Hormones lead to fat burning and muscle gain
Contributes to Longevity, and aging gracefully
Cleanses our body of toxins
Normalizes our basal metabolic rate, thereby lowering heart rate and blood pressure
Boosts cognitive performance
There are many forms of intermittent fasting e.g. 12 - 16 hrs fasting, 5:2 fasting, alternate-day fasting, weekly 24 hr fast, meal skipping, and the warrior diet. You may try them all and see for yourself what fits you best. I prefer 16 hrs fasting on daily basis, sometimes even 18 hr ones.
I did struggle initially from separation pangs, but over time, I have understood the foods/liquids I need to consume on a regular basis for my body to comfortably deal with food deprivation. The best outcome for me has been the best quality sleep ever, clearer mind, no brain fog in the morning, and lots of energy throughout the day.
But even in this case, short-term stress = long-term gains.
Extreme Cold #
Tony Robbins is famously known for his cold water plunges first thing in the morning. Wim Hof has made the Wim Hof Method an essential protocol for ultra-endurance athletes, uber performers, and social media influencers globally. Jack Dorsey, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Andy Murray, and so many more have also openly shared their craving for ice baths for relaxation or post-performance recovery.
As discomforting as this may look, it makes up for the stress of extreme cold by providing many benefits -
Cold showers/ice baths lead to increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and elevated respiratory rate. This contributes to increased alertness.
Better immunity - this is because when the body tries to warm itself up during a cold shower, it activates the immune system by releasing white blood cells.
It helps relieve muscle soreness.
It could be used as a treatment for depression. The cold water sets off cold receptors on our skin causing our body to send a large number of electrical impulses from the nerve endings to the brain. This improves our mood by producing an anti-depressive effect. It also is said to have an analgesic effect.
It lowers the level of uric acid in our body and boosts the production of glutathione in the blood
COVID vaccination, Fasting, and Cold Showers/Ice Baths could be opted in for creating stress in your body in the short term, but each of them contributes to better immunity, a stronger body, and a longer lifespan. Exercise, Steam/Sauna, Sprint, HIIT, and a Zumba Session - all of these fit into the same category of short-term stressors that are net positive to the user.
As for chronic stressors like toxic relationships, burnouts in the job, or abject poverty - these would need drastic measures or professional help. I won’t be able to help or comment on that. But what I want to direct your attention to is self volunteered opportunities to induce stress upon yourself, especially in your investing journey.
Investing ain’t just about buying a security and selling it sometime later. As Gautam Baid says “Investing isn’t just a process of wealth creation; it is a source of great happiness and sheer intellectual delight for the truly passionate investor. It is great to be passionate in life, but it is wise to be so only for things that are under our control, or else we risk being dejected because of unfavorable outcomes.”
It’s a process of wealth creation a.k.a. long-term compounding of one’s financial capital. You would rarely hear about a trader that made billions, but you would hear about Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet, Rakesh Jhujhunwala, and many others who saw their wealth skyrocket via ownership in stellar public listed companies.
Another aspect of wealth creation is that it is a slow process and comes nowhere close to the excitement that a casino provides. But most do not like this slow-paced path to financial independence, and hence they get suckered into get-rich-quick moonshots presented to them time and again.
Another requirement is a childlike curiosity to discover new businesses, industry structures, product features, competitive forces, disruptors, consistent compounders, investment strategies, probabilistic thinking, and the skill to discern management teams. It’s like a maze that has hidden treasures at many points, but one has to decode the cryptic messages flashed by Bloomberg screens or Reuters terminals. The hunt is what leads to sheer intellectual delight and great happiness when you strike gold.
And the last is the wisdom to understand that outcomes are not completely in your control, even if you did everything right. It takes immense maturity to focus only on processes in your control, leaving the outcome to providence and Mr. Market. It is impossible for anyone to have predicted a 20% drop in META in one day or SNAP rocketing 40% up in 1 day. In 1 Day, difficult to beat that, but 2022 has just begun, and let’s see what’s in store.
All these values can only be inculcated with practices that may not be a part of your daily routine. These are the short-term stressors I’d like to introduce. Consuming content on TV, newspaper, journals, or company-funded seminars is easy and many a time just a formality to endure through. But consuming content in a way that changes you betters you, transforms you is a whole different process. It would require you to build an ability to stop consuming and to start thinking. Trust me, that isn’t as easy as it sounds.
“Calling someone who trades actively in the market an investor is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a romantic.” - Warren Buffet
Thinking about your Investing process would require you to slow down your thoughts that are running at 300 mph in your alpha brain. It would require you to shut down a lot of noise around you, so you can focus intensely on the subject matter under study. It would require you to build an ability to not get distracted. And most importantly, it would need you to be able to see the big picture, making all your short-term bottlenecks something to learn from or adapt to.
These are mental breakthroughs and can’t be learned in an MBA school or a Youtube video. These can only be worked upon via daily practices, which would build your muscle one day at a time. Some of these are mentioned below -
Meditating
Journaling
Educating
Reading
Conversations/Cohorts
Counseling
Mr. Vallabh Bhansali, Founder of ENAM Securities in India or Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, and many more have stated their daily routines include meditation. To be calm and to be rational, even when there is a storm out there, is a superpower of sorts. This takes above-average mental agility to pull off on daily basis. Meditation builds the muscle that makes this possible. I dare you to try it for a month.
Gautam Baid has a whole chapter in his book on Journalling every investment idea or thesis before executing any buy or sell decision. This takes a different muscle to stop, think, reflect and express in your own words. It’s very frustrating at times as your brain cannot hold onto all that you understood, but you will get better only with time.
Try educating someone about your Investment idea - either in a written format or one on one. That alone would open your eyes to how weak your own understanding is. If the listener is a seasoned investor, then even better if someone punches holes in your thesis.
Read, read, read, read, read, read - every time you get an opportunity. You will have to steal time from other domains or get super productive in your daily chores for pulling this off. And read stuff that matters, books that deepen your understanding about subjects of your interest. Don’t read just to boast about having read a book last weekend. If you didn’t learn from a book (nonfiction), then that time was misspent, and that’s not a luxury you can afford. As for a book that’s a drag, dump it and move on to the next.
As mentioned many times before, become a part of a group where you get to hear smart people discussing ideas e.g Twitter Spaces, Live Streams, Conventions, Seminars, Webinars, and Cohort-based courses. It’s amazing who you could bump into and learn from.
Yesterday, I got on a call with Atilla, a 19-year-old Software Programmer in Turkey who is part of the Latticework Cohort. We are 100s of us around the world that are part of the Investing community created by Blas Moros. He is coding, building features on the Latticework website, reading books written by Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, and he is only 19. Wow !!!! I was damn inspired by his story and what he wants to achieve for his family.
Your mindset starts transforming when you surround yourself with purpose-driven and passionate people. Your value system starts getting shaped one conversation at a time. You start seeing the world from a wider perspective, and could randomly bump into opportunities that could be life-changing.
I call these short-term stressors as you will need to move out of your comfort zones to do these activities on a daily basis. You will have to cut down on your time somewhere to be able to read, journal, or meditate. You will need to manage your social affairs to make time for insightful conversations. You will need to slow down for your wealth creation to gain pace.
Simply put, Short-term stress = Long term gains
“It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.” —Rabindranath Tagore
On this journey of wealth creation, I invite you to imbibe simplicity in your choices and embrace the short-term stressors to your default mode of operating. I have a Meditation session in a few minutes, so will wrap this piece here and let you think about the options you’d like to introduce to your already hectic lifestyle ;)
Recommendations for the week #
I own Twitter stock and it has been hammered bad in the last few months, taking my position down by 35%. Recently, I came across a very pointed shareholder letter to the management of Twitter, and it amazed me for how much ownership one can demonstrate by owning shares in a public listed company. It’s a Must-Read letter if you own direct equity and would like to understand what one solo investor can possibly do or how he can potentially engage with the holding company.
Today morning, I went through the video on Tech Investing by William de Galle, Lead Portfolio Manager, BlueBox Global Technology Fund. This one is a very good description of different kinds of tech businesses and the biases that many fund managers have. DSP in India has chosen BlueBox Fund in one of their Fund of Fund Products and that intrigued me to dig deeper into their methodology. It’s an interesting perspective for sure.
And the last thing I want to share with you is a fantastic piece I read on how much detail there actually is in everything that we see around us. We may not notice it unless we build a perspective for noticing the intricacy of craftsmanship of all kinds. Reading this piece might just make you respect things much more than ever before.
Wishing you all a smashing weekend ahead.
Stay Safe 🤝