As a financial counselor who watched my own credit score and investment portfolio take a massive hit during the volatile 2022 market correction, I realized that my 3:00 AM "rumination sessions" were more than just regret - they were a physiological trap that was destroying my emotional equity. In my profession, I constantly preach the concept of "Sunk Costs" to clients: money that has already been spent and cannot be recovered. We teach that a rational investor should never let a sunk cost influence future decision-making. Yet, despite twenty years of managing seven-figure portfolios and navigating bear markets, I found myself violating my own cardinal rule. I had made a speculative move on a tech sector ETF - against my own risk tolerance guidelines - and when the market turned, I panic-sold at the bottom, locking in a $12,000 loss. For three days, I conducted a forensic audit of my own failure. I wasn't just remembering the trade; I was obsessively re-calculating the compound interest I had destroyed. I was living in the "red," mentally forcing myself to stare at the negative balance sheet as a form of penance. I believed that if I analyzed the loss thoroughly enough, I could somehow "earn back" the money through sheer guilt. But in finance, as in theology, past performance is not indicative of future results, and dwelling on a realized loss only creates an "opportunity cost" that robs you of present assets.
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