Volatility and Time

When you hear the over-used quotes that are one of the cousins of the adage, “Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were stronger,” it seems to evoke an air of bravado. The “harden up” message can be useful, but I find that the strongest truth in messages like this one isn’t the part that serves as a mirror to your weakness. News flash: we all can be stronger. The most important truth is in the evidence of struggle.

For me, the message we must heed is about the prevalence of adversities in our lives. These external negative forces are unavoidable eventualities. That’s not a threat, either. It’s a truth.

I’d like to share a maxim from my favorite thinker, Nassim Taleb. His expertise as a mathematician is validated by his education and his expertise as a risk expert (via options trading) is validated by his nine figure bank account. The maxim goes on to say:

“In probability, volatility and time are the same.”

I ask you, then, literally and figuratively whether you’ll be fit enough for the volatility when it comes?

Logan Gelbrich

@functionalcoach