Force for thought — 27.09.24

To Have and To Hold

How do you hold onto a good thing and not let it go before it has time to work its magic? By mobilising a method that works. No one is insulated from the challenges of sticking with something promising — not a diet, nor an exercise regimen, or even a first date — the moment it becomes uncomfortable and hard. Why should investing be any different?

We’ve collected more than four million data points that demonstrate how a particular methodological communication enables investors to hold on for the ride. The proof stretches beyond investing: our ability to hold on when we least want to — in order to withstand things that can cause our undoing — has application everywhere. Each week, we’ll show how and why a mechanism for holding on, in investing and in life, is so powerful.

Zooming in

In her New York Times bestseller, How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell highlights the many ways in which our attention is being stolen and how we can resist or slow down this dynamic by, well, doing nothing. While on the surface, her argument may appear simplistic, Odell offers thoughtful prompts to interrogate our attention: are we being stimulated or distracted by the information we consume every day? Is it bringing us closer to what we wish to focus on or pulling us further away?

“… Patterns of attention — what we choose to notice and what we do not — are how we render reality for ourselves, and thus have a direct bearing on what we feel is possible at any given time. These aspects, taken together, suggest to me the revolutionary potential of taking back our attention.” What does she tell us? Firstly, whether we like it or not, we have to accept that our attention is constantly splintered — meaning we are always at risk of focusing too much, or too little, on the wrong thing. Fluctuations in share price, for example, can steal our attention such that our realities become distorted, bearing on the investment decisions we make. But there is always an alternative: “If we allow that what we see forms the basis of how we can act, then the importance of directing our attention becomes all too clear.” By implementing a habitual pattern of attention — whereby investors engage with Force500’s routine, positive and uplifting feedback — we repeatedly glue their attention to their focus so that these two key elements never fray.

To Have on Hand

We often confuse the way things are for reality — even though how we see and interpret reality is ours to choose. If this wasn’t the case, more investors would be able to extract the true value of the S&P500 without submitting to public panics or share price falls. Take The Treachery of Images, René Magritte’s famous 1929 painting that features a pipe with text underneath that reads This is not a pipe. On closer inspection, viewers are encouraged to reckon with their own subjective ways of seeing; to lean into the interpretation that most enhances their experience of the painting — much like a personalised approach to investing, rooted in positive feedback, can do.