What Woodworking Has Taught Me About the Stock Market

I like to start each day with a workout. Okay maybe "workout" is too strong a word. Some days (many?) it consists of half-heartedly pedaling on an exercise bike while reading a magazine, watching TV, and sipping coffee. Today was such a day...

While flipping through an old woodworking magazine I skimmed articles like how to build your own hand plane and how to produce an authentic "period" piece. My desires tend to be more of what I call "functional" in nature. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with "fine" woodworking. I just know that I currently don't have the patience or skill to jump into such endeavors.

I don't know if the lack of skills influences my desire or the lack of desire has prevented me from developing those skills but that doesn't' matter. The fact of the matter is that I don't want to do it so I don't. (Yes, I am eventually building to a market-related point here - no pun intended...)

The bottom line is that while I may read a wide variety of articles I only undertake projects that really interest me. If I try something I am only partially interested in I know one of two things will happen:

1. The finished product will be "less-than-satisfactory"
2. It just won't get finished (To my wife - "Really, I swear I will get to painting the basement baseboards! One day...")

In other words, I try to stick with projects that fit my personality. Those are the projects that I will jump into with both feet and finish with fervor...or at least finish.

Regular readers of this space probably already know where this is now going. In a post earlier this week - What D-I-Y Has Taught Me About the Market - I talked about how "surprises" do happen so it helps to expect them. The point of today's post is understanding the importance of understanding yourself.

I have long believed that different investing "styles" can work for different people. You need to find a style that meshes with your personality, something that you are comfortable with. And I am not just talking about "trading scared" where you find yourself jumping out of positions because you are nervous. Being "bored" can be just as problematic.

Between stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, futures, and everything else out there, you should be able to find some combination that meets your risk tolerance and time horizon. It may not be what your neighbor is comfortable with but at the end of the day you are the one that needs to make the decision and you want to put yourself in the best possible position for doing so.

In other words, I don't care if using a biscuit joiner is not considered an "authentic" joinery technique if my goal is simply to have a functional and nice looking dresser. One day I may have the desire (and time!!!) to cut a dovetail joint by hand, but not today. Which leads into the topic of adapting to the market, but that is a discussion for another post...

P.S. As I think about it, reading magazines about things I have no intention of building also brings up a good market discussion. But that too is for another post...