Life Lessons from the Stock Market : Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences (2024)

INTRODUCTION

Stock market is known as the pulse of economy or economic mirror, which reflects the economic activity of a country. Investors are believed to be the backbone of the securities market.^[1] The interest in stock markets is growing among all age groups and there are more and more people trading now. Health professionals are the cream of any society and are investors in stock market. COVID-19, increased smartphone usage, improved financial literacy, easy dematerialization account (Demat) opening and trading, ease of financial and banking operations, discount broking, policy changes, demography, growth of Internet, dedicated financial news channels have all contributed to more and more people getting connected to the stock market. Stock markets are seen as an attractive investment opportunity both for short and long term. With the advent of globalization, world financial markets and economies are increasingly integrated due to free flow capital and international trade. Stock market easily gets affected by varied factors such as geopolitical changes, terrorist attacks, disease outbreaks, natural calamities, and economic and policy changes to name a few which makes volatility ingrained in the stock markets [Figure 1].^[2]

The analysis of the financial markets interests people dealing with finance, business, economy, and commerce. For a person among the general public, the connection with stock market is mainly investment related and profit oriented. Data show that there has been a significant increase in retail participation in stock markets in India. Individuals manage their own money but often have poor performance management. This can be due to a variety of factors such as lack of a trading knowledge, faulty performance measurement, acting on emotion in moments of greed and fear, relying on tips and financial influencers, and excessive leverage.^[3] There are many things to learn from investments in the stock market during the process of making profits. These life lessons will help an individual mature in matters unrelated to the stock market also.

Few Western countries have a study of stock markets in their curriculum.^[4] Stock markets have been looked into in relation to behavioral addiction, anxiety issues, adjustment disorders, lunar changes, etc. There are thousands of studies done related to the stock market, however, the number is meager if you look at what we learned from the stock market. The learning lessons mentioned are few.^[5] Below is a list of 20 life lessons from the stock market.

LESSONS FOR LIFE

1. Tomorrow is unpredictable, it is a fresh day: Each day starts on a fresh note. Things of yesterday may not continue and the next day is a new beginning
2. We can guess but cannot predict the course: We need to plan so many things in life but life cannot be predicted. So, we need to be prepared if life takes a different path
3. Be prepared to face the worst: Life can be full of uncertainties. We need to be mentally prepared for the sudden turn of events
4. See opportunities when things are down: Down turn in life can be looked at as an opportunity. We need to face problems boldly and smartly
5. Be humble while on top: When things go well in life; we should not lose our sight of the future. It does not take a long time to fall down and falling from the top is more painful
6. Fundamentals are important: Basics and foundation are most important in life too. If our foundation is strong we can face any adversities
7. Need to take the right decision at the right time, the opportunity may not return: Right decision-making is important. Opportunity does not come when we need
8. Do not take emotional decisions, be practical: We should not get emotional about things in life and move forward. We need to learn to “let go” also
9. Mistakes are inevitable, learn from mistakes: We may not be right all the time, hence, we need to learn from our mistakes
10. Learning is a lifelong process: Learning is an everyday process and it helps us grow and mature
11. Have patience, discipline, and persistence: We need to work hard, have patience, and be disciplined in our approach and life
12. Be simple, hype is temporary: Simplicity helps, temporary things work only for short term
13. Invest in many things. Do not keep all eggs in one basket: All may not win or lose, so we need to be aware not to invest everything at one go in one item in life
14. Trust in compounding: We need to stay long, have a far vision. We need to look and plan ahead in life
15. There are no shortcuts to success: Success comes only with hard work
16. Quality is more important than quantity: Invest and develop quality
17. Knowledge is power, be up to date: We need to be well-read and have adequate knowledge about ongoing things to take the right decision. Any knowledge is good knowledge
18. Surprises can come any day: Miracles and surprises are possible but do not happen always
19. Have faith: We need to have trust in our ability, path, choices, and direction. We should not keep changing choices often
20. Turnaround is possible: Things can change with effort, what was not good can be best at a later date.

CONCLUSION

Health professionals invest in stock markets but it is always good to learn more through the process to improve our own life!

REFERENCES