The thing with good concepts is, even if you know them, they hit you hard even when you revisit them. One such concept which really altered my world view is asymmetry. Almost every serious investor and finance-head has read or heard about asymmetry in finance or for that matter, in life. "Limited downside, unlimited upside" - "more to loose than to gain" are some things we investors say that have asymmetry at its core. Of all the things we can find asymmetry in, It's always a good idea to turn inwards first. Where is the asymmetry within us? Among a lot of things, it is in the emotions. As some Roman philosophers opined, Man feels the bad emotions more intensely than the good ones. That's asymmetry. The more you have the more you fear losing it than you are pleased to adding more. This is almost as if the 2 fundamental human natures are working against each other. The innate desire to acquire & possess on the one hand and the fear of losing it on the other. This makes our desires a burden, as an Indian spiritual guru rightly said - How many happy faces do you see in expensive cars? Its ironical, the price of the car is, most of the times, inversely proportional with the happiness on the faces of people we see in it. This is asymmetry. This asymmetry makes possessions a burden and a heavy one in that. Contrary to popular belief nowadays, there is no glory in being burdened, none. Especially with our own possessions. It's an insult to human consciousness (Reading about human consciousness on a finance blog is quite a sight I know). This is not a post to convince you how possessions are bad and you should let go of them, but quite the opposite. This is a reminder that our creation, possession and innate curiosity shouldn't become our greatest burden. This is a reminder to us investors and people in finance to see & treat money, profits, losses & wealth as just numbers to keep our creativity, happiness, consciousness & most importantly, our sense of humor, intact.
Wonderful writeup. It's true that possessions in these times act more as an illness than as the source of happiness and cure for sadness. Some voids I believe are meant to bring us joy and filling them only bring suffering if one gets too attached to it.
One must strive to achieve happiness within while keeping creativity unleashed rather than suppressing the two to manage the control over possessions. Very happy to read this! Thank you for your thoughts. Keep writing.