As many of you know, I am an investment professional. Very few know that I am also a regular table tennis player. I play at least 4 to 5 times a week. Therefore, it’s natural for me to think of analogies from table tennis that apply to winning the game of investments.
Here are three fundamental qualities that you need to win in sports and investments (applicable to many sports but I will stick to table tennis here):
1. Watch the ball like a hawk
Never take your eyes off the ball. When you take your eyes off the ball, you will probably misread the ball’s trajectory and miss hitting the ball properly.
Similarly in investments, you have to keenly watch changes in market dynamics along with shifting micro & macroeconomic variables. If you miss the shifts, you will miss the investment opportunities or incur losses in your current holdings.
2. Be ready to hit the ball
In table tennis, you need to be prepared to hit the ball which sometimes can come in the direction you were not anticipating. That’s why one shouldn’t premeditate the shots and expect the unexpected. Hit the ball when it’s in your comfort zone.
Similarly, in investments, anything can happen. One should always be ready for unexpected outcomes and prepare a portfolio that can handle uncertainties. Go aggressive in investing when the opportunities are in your comfort zone.
3. Maintain a good balance of power & control
If you hit the ball with immense power, you may miss the control and the ball may go outside the table. On the other hand, if you focus on landing the ball on the table without applying sufficient power, you may return an easy ball to your opponent, who would go for a kill.
In investments, having too high a return expectation with a lesser ability to take risks can disrupt your game. Having a very low-risk tolerance can compromise achieving decent returns. That’s why you need an optimum asset allocation strategy that takes care of your risk and return objectives and provides balance to your portfolio. This is the only way to create wealth by way of compounding in the long term.
I am sure, there could be more analogies that many sports enthusiasts can draw. Do share if you have any other fundamental qualities I missed here that apply to both sports and investments.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/sumitduseja
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