Improve Your Quality Of Life By Intelligently Embracing Variance
The key is risk control
(Not intended to be investment advice. Opinions and views expressed are strictly those of the author’s.)
I remember when every other blog post was a bulleted list on life hacks that promised to 10X your productivity or significantly improve your happiness levels. All that crap that was being published really turned me off to writing about this sort of thing. But today, I feel like I actually have some insights to contribute. So here goes — my first life hacks blog post.
Variance is a good thing
In finance, we are taught to avoid variance or at least to always try to minimize it relative to other factors like expected return. Variance is viewed as risk and risk is bad. But reality is not that simple.
Human minds are wired to desire and enjoy change. We move, travel, change jobs, try new restaurants, outgrow friends, etc., all because we desire the new and novel. In a way variance is the spice of life — and for most people, a life without variance is a stagnant one.
But chasing variance blindly and exposing ourselves too much to its whims are where we tend to get into trouble. When we become addicted to variance (gambling, affairs, etc.), ruined finances…