Investing Without Borders: Unleashing the Potential of Financial Dynamics in a 24/7 Market

This article first appeared in Nasdaq.

Money is always in your mind.

“Money never sleeps.” Financial activity never ceases, even outside traditional business hours. It's always on your mind and plays a part in every decision. But what does that phrase mean?

Money continuously works, day or night.

When it comes to finances, there's a wealth of opportunities. Everyone has their unique path to prosperity. Some pour their heart and soul into every working hour, while others amplify their earnings by leveraging the skills of others. Some visionaries look to every nook and cranny of the globe to turn a profit. Meanwhile, those blessed with substantial inheritance or earnings might focus on building passive income streams. For those of us at the beginning of our financial quests or seeking new avenues, we may daydream about a more affluent future.

Whatever journey you are on, money is always in motion and can create pressure. How we deal with financial stress and build a relationship with money starts with our subconscious thinking. You might not realize this, but it is part of your natural DNA hard-wired behavior. You have a natural level of money energy stored within you that can be activated. But, to trigger it, you must first gain insights into your behavior and master the learning, wisdom, and ability to influence your environment to create opportunities.

Accessing money energy is a pivotal endeavor in life.

Money energy is about so much more than…money. It comes from your behaviors, beliefs, and limitations. It informs lifestyle choices, decisions, spending, saving, giving, and the risks you are willing to take with money. If you don’t know your Natural Financial Behavior Capability, you can start your?Free DNA Natural Behavior Discovery Trial?and complete the process in 10 minutes to obtain your personal score.

Harnessing the power of your natural behavior is an essential self-care activity. However, it’s just one of several contributing factors to your ability to generate Money Energy, so knowing is not enough. Unless you see the energy and impact of money on your life, your quality of life will suffer, and it might be the root cause of sleepless nights and levels of stress.

An excellent place to start is your emotional attachment to money. Are they positive or negative feelings? These thoughts are important because they can be a help or a hindrance. Maintain optimistic inferences toward generating wealth, and positive, conscious thinking will feed your subconscious thoughts too.

But are you blocking opportunities with negative, self-limiting feelings like these?

• I am reconciled to my current financial status.
• Will I ever make as much money as -?
• More money, more problems.
• I have enough to satisfy longevity – I think!
• I won’t invest outside of my comfort zone.

The way you think is crucial.

Mary Winter is 55 years old and plans to retire in five years. Mary has been working with a financial advisor for several years, and based on her customized financial plan, the goal for Mary is to achieve a specific rate of return for her portfolio and follow benchmarks. When I last spoke with Mary, she was comfortable with her portfolio objectives (at least up until now) and knows her advisor has followed a disciplined approach.

However, Mary's advisor recently suggested that, as she gets closer to retirement, she should consider a more growth-focused approach to build her savings and recommend some alternative investments. This made her feel uncomfortable, and rather than thinking about the potential benefits of this approach, she could only focus on the potential losses—exposing her portfolio to more significant risks in retirement. One of the most common fears sighted in behavioral economics is?loss aversion, in which the fear of a loss weighs nearly twice as much as the excitement of a potential gain. She’s also experiencing the?status quo bias, the tendency to prefer the current or existing state of affairs over change or alternative options (even though they may offer a better solution).

The emotional anxiety in her brain transformed into a notable rise in heart rate at the thought of anything that might compromise her financial safety. Since then, her sleep has been compromised.

Know your true self.

While the advice she may have been given was a sound investment strategy, it gave Mary emotional discomfort based on her behavioral style. She gravitates more to the familiar, the logical, and the safe. Even as a rational thinker, she could see only challenges and negativity in stepping out of her comfort zone. Mary’s relationship with money means she doesn’t need to be on the cutting edge of everything, so she became overwhelmed when her advisors suggested alternative investments.

Mary’s ability to recognize how money triggers negative emotions and thoughts is critical to the success of her financial decision-making, particularly when under pressure. Therefore, knowing your natural Financial EQ level is vital. It’s part of gaining clarity around your self-identity. When known, it can be managed to maintain or improve your overall Money Energy.

Mary is not alone in this approach to stepping out of her financial comfort zone – but over her lifetime, she has probably missed many great opportunities. But I wonder, have you ever stepped out of your financial comfort zone?