Rational Advisor

Patience

Patience is the greatest of all virtues.
Cato the Elder (234 BC - 149 BC)

Much of the lack of problems with investors is their impatience with their investments. The revered investors such as Warren Buffett, David Dreman, Tom Marsico, Gerald Cooper-Key, Bob Tattersall, George Fraser, Philip Fisher, Benjamin Graham all succeeded because they had one good common quality – patience with their investments.

The worlds religions preach the value of patience

In Christianity, its one of the fruits of the spirit.
In Judaism, it part of wisdom.
In Buddhism, it’s an avenue on the journey to enlightenment. And so on.

Why is it so universally regarded as important, and so universally ignored – simply, it’s our human nature.

That same nature that is fueled by consumerism, materialism, self-absoprtion – all wrapped around short term instant gratification.

We make our decisions lickety-split, we want to see results now, or sooner.

However Patience is good.

“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow” – Chinese proverb

“To lose patience is to lose the battle” – Mahatma Gandhi

How do we teach patience

- Don’t overload our schedules, encourage downtime
- Go watch-free on evenings and weekends. People hurry up when they see a clock, which is why stores typically don’t have clocks – they want us to linger

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Patient

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