Optimist or Pessimist

Amar Pandit , CFA , CFP

There are two broad camps of investors namely the Pessimist, and Optimist.

The camp you are in generally directs what you do with your money or how you invest your money.

You certainly know the meaning of the Pessimist and the Optimist, but an Optimist can also be seen as someone who is unrealistically optimistic or super bullish all the time. Authors of the book “Nudge – The Final Edition”, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein write that “Lotteries are successful because of unrealistic optimism.

My philosophy of an Optimist revolves around being a Rational Optimist. This person knows that things will go wrong, but they will get better. This person also knows that even though things are not likely to go as planned (rather things might go wrong as soon as you have planned), they still need to plan. They believe and simply trusts the process.

Thus, all Successful Investing is an Act
Of Rational Optimism
Of Hope
Of a Better Future.

All Failed Investing is an Act
Of Pessimism
Of Unrealistic Optimism
Of Hopelessness
Of a Worse Future

What do you think?

Which camp are you in?