8 Timeless Ways to Stay on Track with your Investment Goals

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Have you ever started a nutrition and exercise plan, only to give up a few months later?

It can be difficult to stay on track with our goals, especially when it comes to something as important as our finances.

Much like any other discipline that requires consistency and focus, investing and trading the stock market also demands attention in order to achieve your goals.

It’s no surprise then, that occasionally, as an investor or trader of the stock market, you might find yourself getting off track. Life happens, and things can pop up that make it difficult to stay focused on your goals.

If you’re finding yourself in that situation at the moment, then read on.

8 Simple Tips To Help You Get Back On Track With Your Investing Goals

Here are eight simple tips that will help you get back on track with your investment goals:

1. Define your goals

The first step is to take a look at what your goals are. What do you want to achieve in the short-term and long-term? Having a clear and defined goal is essential to staying on track, as it allows you to not only measure your progress and know when you’ve reached your destination – it also gives you better clarity on how to get there.

2. Make a plan

Once you know what your goals are, the next step is to make a plan on how you’re going to achieve them. Without a plan, it’s easy to get derailed and lose sight of your goals.

This plan should include your goals, your purpose, your daily routine and your systems and processes for researching as well as executing your investments and trades.

3. Focus on the long-term rather than short-term

One of the main reasons why investors get off track is because they focus too much on the short-term. It’s important to remember that in the long run, it’s not about timing the market – it’s about buying quality companies at attractive prices and holding them for the long haul.

Of course, there will be times when you’ll need to sell a position, but if you’re focused on the long term, then those times will be few and far between.

With that in mind, you want to ensure you maintain a margin of safety – that is, you want to buy a stock at a lower price that gives you a cushion in case the market doesn’t perform as well as expected.

Success takes patience. And if you’re patient, you’ll be rewarded for it in the long run.

4. Don’t let your emotions dictate your decisions

Making decisions based on our emotions is one of the biggest mistakes we can make, especially when it comes to investing.

When the market is going through a rough patch, it can be tempting to sell off all your positions and get out. However, if you’re focused on the long-term, then you’ll know that this isn’t the time to make rash decisions – rather, it’s a time to buy quality companies at a discount.

Conversely, when the market is doing well, it can be tempting to invest more money than you originally planned to. Again, if you’re focused on the long-term, then you’ll stick to your original plan and only invest the money you had intended to.

The key is to not let your emotions dictate your decisions – rather, let your research and analysis guide you.

5. Don’t get caught up in psychological traps

Closely related to the previous point, when it comes to investing, there are certain psychological traps that we can fall into which can lead us astray.

One of the most common traps is confirmation bias, which is when we seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs. For example, if you’re bullish on a stock, then you’re more likely to read articles and watch videos that support your view, rather than ones that challenge it.

While there’s nothing wrong with being bullish or bearish on a stock, you want to make sure that you’re not letting confirmation bias cloud your judgement. It’s important to be open-minded and look at both the positive and negative aspects of an investment before making a decision.

5. Concentrate on processes rather than outcome

When we’re invested in something, it’s natural to want to see results as soon as possible. However, this can often lead to investors focusing too much on the outcome of their decisions rather than the process.

In order to stay on track, it’s important that you focus on the process rather than the outcome. That means sticking to your plan, doing your research and following your entry and exit rules.

If you do this, then the outcome will take care of itself. Trying to focus on the outcome will only lead to frustration and cause you to make rash decisions.

6. Prioritise loss prevention, and the results will take care of themselves

Following point #5, many amateur stock investors and traders focus too much on making great returns. While making money is obviously important, it’s not the be-all and end-all.

Rather, your priority should be loss prevention. If you can keep your losses small, then the gains will take care of themselves.

Of course, this isn’t always easy to do, but it’s something that you need to keep in mind if you want to stay on track with your investment goals, as loss prevention is what separates true stock investors/traders from mere gamblers.

7. Review your progress regularly

To ensure you’re staying on track, it’s important to review your progress regularly. This means taking a look at your goals and seeing how close you are to achieving them.

It also means looking at your portfolio and seeing how it’s performing. Are the stocks you own still trading at a discount to their intrinsic value? Are they still good long-term investments?

If you find that a stock is no longer trading at a discount or that it’s no longer a good long-term investment, then it might be time to sell. However, if you still believe in the company and its prospects, then you might want to hold onto it.

8. Stay Physically and Mentally Fit

This seems a little out of place in a post about stock investing and trading, however, it’s important to stay physically and mentally fit if you want to be successful. It’s one of the most underestimated aspects of trading.

If you’re not in good shape, then it’s going to be difficult to focus and make rational decisions. On the other hand, if you’re physically and mentally fit, then you’ll be in a much better position to handle the stress that comes with stock investing and trading.

So, make sure you exercise regularly, eat healthy and get enough sleep. These things will help you stay on track and be successful in the long run.

Conclusion

Staying on track with your investment goals is not easy, but it’s important if you want to be successful. By following the tips outlined above, you’ll be in a much better position to achieve your goals and reach your full potential as an investor or trader.

Terry

P.S. If you’re brand new to stocks and want to learn more about how to invest and trade successfully, then here are 2 free resources you might find useful:

The first is our FREE 10 Stock Criteria Checklist, which helps you identify what I consider to be the financially strongest 1% of stocks in the market at any time in less than 5 minutes. Click here to learn more.
The second is our FREE 90-Minute Online Masterclass, where I’ll show you how I personally anticipate market crashes in advance and prepare for them. Click here to learn more if you’re interested.