Every year at this time we are bombarded with predictions. It is a common request in my line of work. “Colleen, what are they saying will happen with interest rates this year?  What about the stock market – will it go up or down?” My professional email inbox is inundated with messages asking me to peer into my imaginary mirrored ball.

Everyone from pundits and stargazers to economists and sociologists like to prophesize about what the coming year holds --- and many of us listen intently, hoping that all things good lie ahead. As a society, we’ve become obsessed with trying to outguess the universe. 

I thought I was original when I dreamt up the title to this blog post, but alas, I am not the first… “Prediction addiction” is a term coined by Jason Zweig, the author of Your Money and Your Brain:  How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich (2007), a book I will be adding to my 2018 must-reads. Needless to see, he was onto something.  

Personally, I prefer to see the future through a more logical lens. Here are some fundamental truths I believe:

1. There will be good news and there will be bad news.
2. Stock market will go up and down throughout the year. Some years it ends up and some years, it ends down. Over the long term (10, 15, 20 years), the markets tend to evolve and innovate resulting in positive growth.
3. You will spend money, sometimes on essential needs and sometimes on frivolous wants.
4. Some people will be born.
5. Some people will become angels.
6. We will pay taxes.
7. The sun will rise in the morning and set in the evening.

Unless you have a time machine, like the one Marty McFly used in 1980’s movie Back to the Future, I can assure you of only one prediction – the future is always uncertain. So decide what you want to accomplish and focus your attention on getting it done.

 

References: 

http://jasonzweig.com/is-your-brain-wired-for-wealth/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-solin/do-you-have-prediction-ad_b_66570.html