Fear and uncertainty

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. -- Voltaire

There are lots of talks about euro debt crisis and double-dip recession recently. I can sense the growing fear and uncertainty in the market. It may be the worst year since 2008~2009. 

I think, most of time, investment is to deal with fear and uncertainty. If you're used to uncertainty and this may be a good time to invest. I did try to increase long positions, but I kind of run out of money and hit the upper limit of leverage I can tolerate.

I try to spend all of my time with family and kids. I should focus on living and enjoying my everyday life and  and don't pay too much attention to the market. However, the overall economic and market can still drag my mind out of my daily activities. Perhaps, a good investor is always someone like a Zen master.

There is an old Chinese saying: 无欲则刚, meaning you become tough when you no longer have earthy desire. It may be a paradox for investors because investors have inherent earthy desires: maximizing their returns :-)