The best way to reach your goals is to stay the course.

Think about these two expressions for a minute: “follow your dreams” and “follow the crowd.” 

Both of these expressions are familiar from your childhood, and the first one feels more positive than the second. Following our dreams is something we’re encouraged to do from early childhood. It’s good to dream big, know where you want to go and how to get there. 

Following the crowd, on the other hand? That’s probably something you were actively encouraged not to do as a kid. Maybe this sounds familiar: “If all of your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?”

As we grow up, our dreams evolve. We’re no longer dreaming about being a professional athlete or astronaut, but instead about enjoying a happy and healthy retirement. We know where we want to go and hopefully, we have a plan in place to help us get there. 

As adults, we’re also still susceptible to crowd-think. In this case, that might mean being tempted to follow the latest, hottest investment trend in an attempt to make more money more quickly.

Today’s equity markets can be volatile, bond returns are barely keeping pace with inflation and you might worry about not reaching your dreams. Meanwhile, the headlines state you can earn a high return by investing in this year’s hottest trend, and it worked for your best friend’s cousin!

Unfortunately, crowd-think isn’t any better for adults than it is for kids. The best way to reach your goals is to step away from that proverbial cliff and stay committed to your investment plan.

Why? Because markets rise and fall. It’s a normal part of investing. In fact, periods of weak market performance are typically followed by periods of strong market gains. And periods of market gain tend to last longer than periods of market decline. So the rough patch you’re experiencing now will end, and you’re probably still on track to reach your long-term goals, regardless of any short-term volatility.

That doesn’t mean your investment plan should never change. It should, but not based on a short-term fad. If you experience a major life change, if you’re getting closer to retirement or if you feel your investment plan needs to be reviewed, we should sit down together.