If you’ve ever opened your phone in the morning and immediately felt your brain go into overdrive, you’re not alone.
A breaking news alert. A market headline. A viral post predicting a crash. Another one promising a huge rally. Someone on social media confidently saying “this is the only investment you need.” Then a podcast, then an article, then another opinion.
And before you know it, you’re thinking about your money,your retirement, your future, and you’re not even sure what you’re reacting to anymore.
That’s the challenge investors are facing right now.
It’s not that there’s too little information. It’s that there’s too much of it, and most of it is designed to pull an emotional reaction out of you.
I work with individuals and families here in Minneapolis who feel overwhelmed by the constant financial noise.
Here’s what I’ve seen over and over again.
Most people don’t get hurt financially because they made one terrible investment.
They get hurt because they made a series of small emotional decisions over time.
They get pulled into reacting.
They change their strategy midstream.
They abandon a plan that was working because the world felt loud.
The market is always going to move. The economy is always going to shift. Headlines are always going to be dramatic.
But the real risk is when your financial decisions start being driven by overstimulation instead of structure.
A big reason this is so difficult is because financial noise feels urgent.
A headline is designed to make you feel like something is happening right now, and if you do not act immediately, you are going to miss out or get crushed.
But most of the time, what is happening in the moment is not what matters most long term.
Real investing is slower than the internet.
And that’s a good thing.
Most successful investors are not trying to “keep up.”
They are trying to stay aligned.
Aligned with their goals. Their timeline. Their risk comfort. Their long term plan.
That is the difference.
They are not reacting to every story. They are sticking to a strategy that already assumed uncertainty would happen.
Because it always does.
This is the part that matters.
Here are a few ways you can reduce the influence of constant headlines without feeling like you’re burying your head in the sand.
1. Have a plan that is built for uncertainty
A good plan is not built for perfect conditions.
It is built for real life.
It assumes there will be inflation. Rate changes. Elections.global events. downturns. recoveries.
The goal is not to guess what will happen next.
The goal is to have a plan that can hold up through whatever happens next.
2. Stop treating market headlines like personal emergencies
One of the most helpful mindset shifts is this.
Most market news is not about you.
It is about what is happening in the world, and the world will always be messy.
If your financial plan is built around your actual goals and time horizon, then most of the noise is just that. Noise.
3. Set decision rules before emotions show up
This is a big one.
When people make changes in the heat of the moment, it usually does not go well.
Instead, it helps to decide ahead of time what triggers action and what does not.
For example:
When will you rebalance?
When will you increase savings?
When will you reduce risk?
What would need to change in your personal life before you adjust your strategy?
Having rules makes it easier to stay calm when the headlines are trying to pull you in.
4. Focus on the parts of your financial life you can control
You cannot control what the market does next week.
But you can control:
Your savings rate
Your spending habits
Your tax planning strategy
Your debt decisions
Your insurance coverage
Your investment allocation and diversification
Your retirement timing and income plan
Most financial progress is built in those areas, not in reacting to what the market did yesterday.
If you feel yourself getting pulled into the noise, here’s a question I like.
“Is this headline something that actually changes my long term plan, or is it just trying to make me feel something?”
Most of the time, it is the second one.
The truth is, we are living in a world that is designed to keep you overstimulated.
And when it comes to investing, overstimulation can be expensive.
The best thing you can do is not to ignore reality.
It is to build a plan that is grounded enough to handle reality, without needing to react to every headline along the way.
If you want a second opinion on whether your current strategy is built for this kind of world, I’m always happy to have a conversation.
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can gain is not a new investment.
It is clarity.Together, we can work to keep you on-track toward your financial goals.
Request a consultation to learn more.
Read more articles by Ryan Johnson