Emotional Response
Financial advertisements make inflammatory statements such as “You cannot afford losses like those of the last recession” or “Making the wrong Social Security decision can cost you thousands.” These advertisers want to make us feel that we need to make changes without considering the reality of our situation.
Everything we hear or see causes an emotional reaction; good or bad. Information we hear or see hits the amygdala, the center of emotion in our brain within 12 milliseconds.
Logical Response
It takes 40 milliseconds for the same information to hit the logical part of our brain, the cortex.
By that time our emotions have hijacked our brain, and we cannot think straight. There literally is no time for rational thinking. Our minds were made up before we even realized what was happening.
Finding a Solution
Next time you find your logic being hijacked by emotion, take a step back. Think to yourself: “What if the situation I am fearing does not happen?” “What if the opposite happens and things are better than I think?”
Your financial plan is the tool we use to prepare you for market volatility and prevent emotional decisions from sidetracking you from your important financial goals. If you do not have a plan or have not recently reviewed your plan, I invite you to meet with one of our financial advisors.
