The one thing you should start doing right now – You’ll be glad you did.

I gave my 20-year-old daughter some advice a week ago that I’m sharing with you. 

We are living through a momentous global historical event. Major financial decisions are being made that will have lasting implications. For this series of events to have any lasting value in our lives, we have to be honest with ourselves about what we are thinking and doing as it plays out. Without doing so, once we are past this and our attention is directed elsewhere, most of us will craft our memory of the events to align with our self-perception and through a lens of how history actually played out.

Start documenting.  Each day, write down the following:

• What happened in the broader world today (what was most impactful for you).
  
• Your honest thoughts about what happened. Don’t censor yourself, this is a private journal.
  
• The decisions you made.
  
• On a scale of 1 – 10, how anxious you are. If you are at 8 or higher, please seek an outlet for this anxiety. There are lots of ways to do this. Talk to trusted and calm people in your life.  Exercise at home a bit. Meditate. Take social distancing preparations calmly. Taking action will help your anxiety.
  
• If you sold or bought equities, note that and note the level of the S&P 500 as a reference point to evaluate the results of your decision in the future (2 years from now, not sooner).

Through this daily practice you will build a picture of who you are during times of crisis and uncertainty.  In the future, you can refer to it and achieve greater understanding of yourself and the world around you. It will prevent you from falling into the trap of creating a story about the events and your reaction to them that is subject to human bias and rationalization. 

You will also be in a better position to “tell it like it was” to your children or grandchildren so they can learn as well.

Start documenting today.