Building Superpowers
Let's look at Resilience to begin with...
“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” ― Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven
I went through various news subscriptions I have and the headlines were pretty grim. Let me share a few of them -
Tech Rout Drags Nasdaq to Worst Month since 2008 - WSJ
Thrashed Stock Bulls Look to Future and See Nothing But Bad News - Bloomberg
Weeks of confinement in Shanghai have fueled anger and anxiety about the cost of a “zero-Covid” strategy. - New York Times
Its uncertain times and fear and anxiety are gaining traction across borders, industries, and countries. And the only way to deal with uncertainty is either to act like an ostrich with your head buried in the ground, acting as if nothing’s happening. Or to man up and deal with it, taking steps that are in your control, and not overthinking about variables that you have no control or influence over.
The tricky part of this choice is that you don’t have an alternative except for the latter. I’m assuming you to be a rational human being, committed to your personal growth and financial security. If you don’t see yourself in that light, then you need not spend time reading further.
And if you have no choice but to deal with these uncertainties, then you will need to develop the ability to stay resilient amidst all chaos engulfing you personally or professionally. Building that ability becomes a herculean task when you are facing adversities and are stressed out to just survive another day. And hence it is recommended that you work upon this today when things are alright so that you are well prepared for the ugly tomorrow heading your way.
It’s equivalent to building your cash reserves in good times. Just so that you are prepared, in case the bad times arrive. And they always do. World Trade Center Attacks in 2001, Great Financial Crisis in 2008, Brexit in 2016, COVID in 2020, and now the Russia Ukraine War. Bad News always has a way to show up, especially when the world is chugging along just fine and everyone is enjoying the good times.
Our personal investing journeys are also the same. Our portfolios will experience significant drawdowns, some investments will be written off, some friends will not repay the money they owe us, some brokers will take you for a ride and swindle you off your money, and sometimes you will get tempted to make a stupid decision that you will regret later.
No matter how hard you try to avoid these, they will happen. So why not be prepared mentally for these today. If this makes sense, then finding ways to become resilient is Step # 1 to build that ability to stay calm. Let’s dissect the word ‘resilience’ before we talk about the habits that could get us there.
The keywords here are “capacity”, “recover” and “quickly”.
Capacity is something you can work upon. It might be very weak right now, just like our capacity to lift weights or run on the treadmill when we do it for the first time. But with practice, it only gets better.
Recovery refers to gaining mental clarity. And it is a key ingredient to making wiser choices.
Quickly refers to the speed with which you gain mental clarity and execute the choices at hand wisely. With time, even a depressed person has a chance to recover. But why lose all the opportunities at hand and wait for time to heal us one day someday. It’s much better to bounce back quickly and deal with the situation head-on and course-correct soon enough.
To build upon this capacity is a Superpower of sorts.
As for how to accomplish this? It’s simple in essence but takes patience to get there. You might dismiss it in the beginning, but you’ll need to experience it for yourself before you make a judgment. You may feel I’m crazy and have lost my marbles. But I am speaking purely from experience and hence have a context to what I’ll be hinting at in the coming few paragraphs.
It simply comes down to putting yourself into uncomfortable situations time and again, only to build your ability to come out strong and with a win. It’s like taking on small challenges and taking your showing up for the challenge as a win, not the flawless execution of the task you were given. The former is duplicable on a daily basis, the latter will take years to accomplish.
So let’s ditch perfection. Its been the root cause of many people never starting out on their missions, goals, or dream projects. Let’s take solace in showing up for the task and going through with it, while you embrace the fear of falling short big time.
I still remember a Suhoor we were invited to in 2009 and we spotted Sunny Varkey, MD of Gems Education with his team, awaiting his car to be brought by the valet driver. My colleagues were full of admiration for the man, and so was I. But looking at him from a distance wasn’t enough and something inside me was nudging me to introduce myself and share my adulation for him personally.
I mustered some courage and walked up to him and said (I still remember clearly) “ Hi. My name is Manish Gvalani and I’m a Private Banker with BNP Paribas. I just wanted you to know that you are doing a great job for the country and we all respect you immensely for your efforts and contribution. It inspires us too as NRIs to rise and shine in our professions and contribute to the best of our abilities. Thank You.”
I don’t remember his reply, but I do remember his firm handshake. I do remember the smile he was wearing. And I, even today, can feel the rush of having done something uncomfortable i.e. walking up to one of the richest Indians in UAE and introducing myself.
During my stint with Anand Rathi Securities and Standard Chartered Bank in Mumbai, I was provided a list of clients that were inactive and I had to cold call them, resurrect the relationship and turn that dead client list into an active & a profitable one.
I didn’t like getting hung up on, I didn’t like being scolded, and I would be frustrated almost daily as I wasn’t getting through to these clients effectively on the phone. I would even doubt my ability to sell, until one day, things started to fall in place. I vividly remember, one of the top executives of Kirloskar Group calling me to his office for Equity Advisory Services. That was the beginning of a very interesting 2 years in Sales in Mumbai. These roles taught me a lot. The biggest learning was that it was ok to fail. I had to keep moving on.
I am a huge fan of 2 longevity-related podcasts i.e. Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey and Huberman Lab. Both are brilliant professionals in the Health & Wellness space and are doing phenomenal work to make a difference to people worldwide. Recently, I heard Dr. Andrew Huberman talk about the benefits of deliberate cold water exposure on his podcast.
I have heard about the same subject from Wim Hof, Dave Asprey, Tony Robbins & many more. This time, I was determined to experience the cold water immersion and I found one facility in Dubai that provides guided experiences. It’s called Longevity Sports and is a very well-managed facility in Al Quoz, very close to the Mall of Emirates.
I signed up for a session and it seemed doable, kinda easy. Until I stepped into the icepod (as shown below). My body went into a state of shock, shooting enough signals to my brain to jump out and run 💨 I was shivering and struggling to stay under. But I knew that I had to survive only the first few minutes, post which my body will adapt and so will my mind. It was a mental battle first and foremost, the body eventually catches up. I was also helped by the trainers there.
I must admit, that those 15 mins were a profound experience in staying calm in spite of the chaos around you and its effect on your mind and body. That’s what being resilient looks like.
That’s when I started thinking about this week’s newsletter and wanted to share that one can do many things which will make you confront your fears. But that’s the only way to build resiliency.
Few things you could try -
Saying “Hi” to a stranger and carrying on the conversation
Expressing your feelings for your loved ones
Having a difficult conversation that you have been postponing for months/years
Bungee Jumping
Cold Calling
Volunteering for a cause you believe in
Direct Sales
Cold Water Immersion
Public Speaking
Asking a Question in Public/Group
Answering a Question in Public/Group
Proposing to someone you really like
I’ve tried them all and failed miserably many times. But I didn’t realize that I was getting better at dealing with my failures, embracing those rejections, picking myself up, and moving on.
This ability is required in all domains of your life, especially in Investing. Purely because you will make mistakes, your calls will go wrong, you will lose money, and you will be staring at uncertain times with no clarity on the best course of action. That’s when being resilient will come in handy in you holding your nerves and making wiser choices to carry on with the game, without self-destruction of any sort.
No wonder it’s often recommended to do something daily that scares you. I never understood the wisdom behind this statement when I was young. But today, I thank my stars that I accidentally, coincidentally, or professionally - had to do many things that scared the hell out of me. But today, they are paying rich dividends.
My portfolio is down, but it doesn’t scare me. I have enough cash reserves to survive the lull period that global economies could into in case the war escalates. If not, I shall deploy the cash back into the game and be fully invested. Either way, I’ll bounce back fast.
It’s a superpower that I’m excited about. I invite you too to try building it, and that too - Daily !!!
I’ve been on leave the entire last week and just catching up with pending work and errands. Hence, not much to share in terms of recommended reading or videos. But I shall make up for the same in next week’s newsletter.
It’s 5:30 pm and in 15 mins, Berkshire Hathaway AGM begins. I am looking forward to this event and will share my takeaways from it soon.
Wishing you a great day ahead and Stay Safe !!!