The gloom and doom, fear mongering and get-rich emails which overcrowd my inbox scream at me. Despite this wonderful website, I have fallen for a number of expensive subscriptions that I can barely afford and are not getting me where I need to be. Since purchasing my stock portfolio over a year ago, it has dropped 60-80% and sometimes I feel desperate to find a way to make up for those losses. I am elderly and only have about a 5 year window to wait out those losses and hope they come back up. My hope is this thread can have, either words of wisdom or, encouragement when panic hits and you have the feeling that you “must” get in on the next big thing being promoted.
Some of the things I heard today at a Motley Fool seminar and want to keep in mind are (not exact quotes): The biggest risk to investors is themselves and their emotions, sitting still may feel reckless in a fast-moving world but is sometimes exactly what you should do, nobody is really successful until they’ve experienced a calamity, community can help you work through some of the signals and noise, the worst time to make a decision is when you’re in it – step back, decide in advance, “What will I do if X happens?’. I also think when you realize you have made a mistake out of greed or fear, to think of what you would tell your dearest friend if it was them who had made the mistake.

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