Focus on the Right Emotion

Emotion is a powerful driver of behavior. In The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt discusses the relationship between logic and emotion. Logic is the rider on the elephant and your emotion is the elephant. Others call it the rational mind versus the emotional mind. Think about the last time you thought about the 10 lbs you want to lose or spending more time with your family. Unless the emotional mind is willing to cooperate, it won’t last.

You can coerce all you want, but until you make the elephant want to do something, the logical brain doesn’t stand a chance. The lesson here is powerful because all marketing is geared toward making the elephant move. Whenever we are aroused emotionally, we feel it physically either as a chill down our spine, a pain in our gut or blissful joy. We search for emotions that make us feel good. The financial factory uses this to their advantage.

We introduce the concept of Money Instinct in my upcoming book, You Should Only Have To Get Rich Once. In the book, Money Instinct represents a trained elephant. We don’t arrive on this planet understanding stocks, bonds, retirement, 401ks, etc. All of these are learned, and unfortunately much of our education comes from marketing materials and media pundits. Both have vested interest in us acting a certain way. Learn to teach your emotional brain the right way to feel about investing. Give logic a chance.