For those who are anxious despite studying properly: Prioritize judgment over investment skills

I used to think that if I learned about money properly, my anxiety would decrease.
But in reality,

sometimes the opposite happens.
The more you research, the more confused you get.

The more you look, the more anxious you become.
Even though you should know, you can't make a decision.
This,

I think this happens quite a lot.
NISA,

investment trusts,
high-dividend stocks,
side hustles,
saving money,
yen depreciation,
market crashes,
we live in an era where all kinds of information flows in every day.

Moreover,

everything seems correct.
You should study properly.

If you don't know, you'll fall behind.
If you don't do it now, you'll lose out.
While looking at words like those,

before I knew it, my mind was constantly restless.
But recently, I've come to think

that there is a pitfall here.
What we want to prioritize in this day and age

is not investment skills,
but judgment.
1 Explanation of the article

The fact that there is a lot of information about money

is not a bad thing.
It's much easier to access knowledge

than it used to be, and the hurdle to learning
has also lowered.
This is a very good thing.

However,

being exposed to a lot of information
and being able to make judgments that suit you
are completely different things.
If you equate these,

you end up with situations like
constantly looking at information, yet
nothing in your life is getting sorted out.
2 Why is this noteworthy?

The reason this theme is important is that

anxiety about money
is not caused solely by not having money.
Not knowing what to believe,

not knowing if your way of choosing is correct,
feeling like everyone else is moving forward
while you are the only one standing still.
This kind of anxiety

is also quite exhausting.
Moreover,

the more serious you are, the easier it is to fall into this.
Trying to do things properly,

researching,
comparing,
getting lost,
researching again.
This loop

is truly tiring.
3 Why is this happening?

The reason is simple.

Because as information increases,

it looks like the number of correct answers is increasing.
But in reality,

rather than the number of correct answers increasing,
it's just that a massive amount of other people's premises are flowing in.
Different annual incomes,

different family structures,
different assets,
different personalities,
different things you want to protect.
Yet,

if you take words out of context and accept them,
the correct answer that suits that person
looks like it applies to you as well.
That's why you get lost.

What is needed

is not to increase information,
but to select what is necessary for yourself.
4 Impact on our lives

When your judgment wavers,

your life also gets subtly disrupted.
Today, monthly accumulation looks like the right answer.

Tomorrow, cash seems important.
The next day, you feel like you're in danger if you don't have a side hustle.
That's how

your mind gets busy.
But,

real life doesn't change that suddenly.
Organizing your household budget,

building an emergency fund,
reducing wasteful spending,
creating a form you can continue.
What is truly important

is actually this kind of foundation.
Here, I think

tidying up, habits, and financial knowledge
are indeed the three most important things.
First, tidying up.

When your room is cluttered,

your mind is strangely cluttered too.
You spend more time looking for things,

your field of vision is noisy,
and you can't settle down.
This,

it might look like just a story about daily life, but
it is quite related to the accuracy of your judgment.
Tidying up

is not just for making things look clean,
I think it's also important for protecting your ability to think.
Next, habits.

Regarding information,

the distance you keep is more important
than how much you look at it.
Instead of searching every time you feel anxious,

decide on the time to look,
limit who you look at,
and close it when you're done.
These kinds of habits

will protect your heart.
Finally, financial knowledge.

For example,

having basics like
an emergency fund (money kept on hand for sudden expenses or income loss)
or
diversified investment (a way of thinking to reduce risk by not concentrating on one thing but spreading it across multiple),
makes it harder to be swayed by strong words every time.
You don't need to know everything.

But,
I think it's better to have a foundation.
That's what I think.

5 Honest feelings

Honestly,

I thought studying money
was something more positive.
That if you knew, you'd be at ease,

if you understood, you'd be calm,
and things would gradually fall into place.
But the reality is,

there are days when you get tired from looking at too much information.
Moreover,

the harder you try, the more likely this is to happen.
Anxious despite studying properly.

This
is quite painful.
But that doesn't mean

you lack ability.
In an era with too much information,

you might just be taking it too seriously.
Therefore,

recently I've come to think
that not being swallowed by information is just as important
as increasing your knowledge.
6 How I want to proceed

This is how I want to proceed.

First,

limit the information I look at.
Reduce looking at things just because I feel vaguely anxious,

and only take in the information I need.
Next,
decide on the time to look at information.

Instead of chasing it constantly,
keep a distance.

And,
tidy up my room and life a little.

Because I think that when your head is cluttered,
organizing your living space should come first.

On top of that,
I want to build up basic financial knowledge little by little

and make decisions without rushing.
What is needed in this day and age
might be the ability to choose based on your own axis

rather than having a lot of information. 🌿