“The one constant is change” is a phrase and graph often used in connection to financial explanations about markets and interest rates moving in relation to economic and world events.

Looking at a chart, could perhaps give us an intellectual sense that perhaps everything will be okay because ‘things always seem to work out in the long-term’. But, seriously, in the middle of a significant world event or personal upheaval, are your decisions driven mostly by these sort of historical representations or by your current emotions? Obviously, emotions play a more significant role in how we all make decisions – especially financial decisions with potentially life altering consequences. Basic human nature is always driven more by what’s immediate and known. This means that experience and knowledge have the most impact on decision making because they are the factors that will effect emotions the most.

If you have parachuted from a helicopter dozens of times, you are likely to have a higher comfort level with what to expect than if it was your first time – this is the concept we are talking about. This month, we encourage you to become aware of how your emotions effect your financial decision making. Pay particular attention if you are making a decision because you are more comfortable with it because it’s what you have done before, and it’s what you know others have done. When you become aware of how your knowledge affects your emotions, which affects your decisions, you will start to become aware of where and how you can increase your knowledge to increase your comfort level. Ultimately, this will enable you to recognize and take advantage of other opportunities that, at first, might seem like a scary change, yet with increased knowledge and experience can potentially be the answers you’ve been looking for and not yet recognized.

We are not talking about enormous changes, we are talking about making the small steps to increase your knowledge, your skills and, ultimately, your confidence so you are able to get the results you never before thought possible.