On being labile –
(sorry, couldn’t help the blog post title. It was there. I had to use it. It would have been rude not to. Iam sure you all agree.)
So, what is it with massive emotional peaks and troughs? It’s silly not to have equanimity. Unhelpful. You miss opportunities because of the red mist, and it’s contagious…
But something can be silly and yet persist (no, really).
Sure, there’s the habit aspect to it, but there are also psycho-social gains to be had? Is it martyr complex? Is it bidding for someone else to be the parent while you become the child. Let’s see what the font of all reliable information (wikipedia) has to say about catastrophising…
Er, nothing that I could find. But google led on to this, which, while telling me nothing new, was useful.
But of course, the swings from peak to trough might be profitable. In the same way as this
A major problem lies in the fact that banks and other financial institutions have thrived on volatility in recent years. When markets are flat they (and their clients) cannot make directional bets and they make less money on dealing commissions as their transaction volumes fall. The Bank of England’s Andrew Haldane went so far as to use the term “volatility junkie” in his recent Wincott Annual memorial Lecture when referring to the banks and their shareholders. There is therefore a very real conflict of interest between ordinary savers and investors and the financial world.
Peace of mind has a very real value
Michael Modiano
Letter in FT 7 November 2011
