Vehicle Versus Destination

I read this analogy somewhere before, but don't remember where.  If anyone knows who originally came up with it, please leave a comment and I'll gladly credit the author.

Imagine you're in New York City planning a road trip to Los Angeles.

You get your car all packed up and are ready to hit the road.  You've spent time on the internet and pouring over maps to determine the best way to get there.  You're stocked up on beverages and munchies to minimize stops along the way.  Your car is all gassed up and ready to go.

So, early one morning, you climb behind the wheel, crank up the car and get going.  You make a couple of turns to get to your chosen route out of New York City, but next thing you know, you're sitting in a sea of traffic.  All you can see are cars, taxis, more cars, and more taxis. 

Surely you're frustrated.  You're well planned and thoroughly thought out journey isn't off to a great start.  All of a sudden, you notice bicycles whizzing by your car.  It's a bike messenger.  And another.  And another.

All of a sudden, you recognize the answer.  You should be on a bike.  Then you'd be moving,  You'd be making progress.  You wouldn't be sitting here, stuck in traffic, that's for sure.

Lost in this frenzied thinking is your planned destination -- Los Angeles -- which happens to be approximately 2400 miles away.  Forgotten is all the planning and forethought that went into this great undertaking.

Yes, in the blink of an eye, you're willing to throw in the towel on all this planning and thoughtful research just so you can get out of your car and get moving.

Sound ridiculous?  You're probably wondering who in their right mind would do something crazy like that?

Well, I think it happens a lot more than you realize.  You may have even done it yourself.

Let's say, either on your own or with the assistance of an advisor, you've gone through the process of planning for your financial future.  You've explored your goals, what's important to you and your family, your priorities, and the level of risk you're comfortable taking to get there.  In fact, let's compare your financial plan to a trip from NYC to LA.

You finally embark on your financial journey, guided by your comprehensive financial plan, and what do you know, but the market is in neutral, or worse -- reverse.  Perhaps this is made worse in your mind by the fact that some of your investments that were carefully chosen to align with your financial plan are in negative territory.

Next thing you know, you hear or read or see on CNBC all these investors or mutual funds or stocks that seem to be cruising in the carpool lane while you're "car" seems stuck in reverse.

Rather than sticking to your plan and focusing on your long-term destination, you jump our of your current vehicle (mutual funds, stocks, etc.) and jump onto another just because it happens to be moving at this very moment.

Never mind the fact that it might not be the best vehicle to carry you to your destination which can be years and years away.  Disregard the fact that you likely haven't considered the risk involved with a move like this.  Or have you considered that if you jump onto something that's moving now, it's run could be coming to an end?

Again, as silly as this sounds, this scenario happens countless times each day.  If it didn't, there would be no audience for CNBC and the other multitude of financial information outlets and news sources.

Of course, our societal need for instant gratification doesn't help either.  But next time your fighting a temptation to jump out of your "car" and onto a "bicycle", I would encourage you to remember your destination and all the planning that went into making sure you arrive on time and in good condition.

And ask yourself if you might already be in the perfect vehicle to get you there.