Serenity During Times of Turmoil

From time to time, I find myself reflecting on things or people who have significantly influenced me. Recently I pondered the picture that perpetually hung in the hallway of every home we lived in growing up in the Midwest, which was a picture of the Serenity Prayer. Dad got transferred on average about every two years, so we moved a lot, yet somehow this picture retained its prominent position in each of our homes. Regrettably, I will never know why at least one of my parents held this picture and/or prayer in such high esteem, which is made more of a mystery since both had always been “teetotalers” who had never been involved in twelve step programs.
Regardless, throughout my formative years I passed by, read, and reflected on it multiple times a day, creating an indelible impression on me, both personally and professionally. It has never been harder to avoid getting distracted away from the things that really matter (to us) and the things we can control. I don’t know if the world is a messier or more dangerous place than historically, but it is unquestionably harder to avoid being aware of it. (Almost weekly I learn of a friend or client who has “unplugged” from tv and/or social media to “save their sanity”, or at least improve their mental health.)
While we would rarely tell you to “disconnect” or “just ignore the news”, we hope you know that we remain vigilantly aware of current events, perpetually winnowing out the things that might matter to your investments and your goals. For example, both last year and this year the financial world is trying to figure out whether we are in or will be in a recession and, if so, experience a “soft” or “hard” landing. While this is important, impactful stuff to society at large, by knowing and having confidence in your circumstances and financial plan we can stay “serene” even during times of turmoil.
To paraphrase, our investment process includes being aware of the things we cannot really affect (the Feds, the economy, the capital markets, war!) while controlling the things we can (helping clients eliminate debt, helping clients stick to their game plan, and investing in fundamentally sound ideas that we feel are suitable for the situation). Almost daily, clients express concern, but when asked “Yes, but how are YOU doing?” “Well, actually…we are doing just fine.”