The stock market plummeted yesterday.
Depending on when you’re reading this, it could be plummeting again.
And if it is plummeting, just like yesterday, people undoubtedly will be running around shouting, “the sky is falling!”
Who knows? Maybe the sky is falling. Maybe this is the time the market finally crashes, anarchy finally reigns, and civilization as we know it finally ends.
Then again, people thought the same thing during 2008’s financial crisis. And they thought the same during 1987’s stock market collapse. And they really thought it was the end when Shia LaBeouf was born in 1986.
Each time these Chicken Littles thought the end was nigh, they made a bad situation worse by overreacting.
“The market is going down? Sell! Sell all the stock. ALL THE STOCK!”
And because they were busy selling, they missed out on bargains. While the market was recovering, they were still sitting on the sidelines.
It wouldn’t be until many months later, after the market had recovered much of its losses, that most Chicken Littles decided it was safe to jump back in.
“Take my money, dang it! The good times will never end! Whoooooooooo!”
Does this sound like anyone you know?
Impulsive. Hasty. Reactive.
It certainly sounds like a few bloggers I’ve crossed paths with over the years. Heck, it sounds like me during the early days of my blogging career…
Changing the tone of your blog on a whim. Switching up the design every few weeks. Abandoning guest blogging because of something Matt Cutts said about it. Ditching Facebook because Copyblogger ditched theirs. Copying the writing style of every new blogger you discover. Deleting your blog and starting anew.
When you’re impulsive, when you react to anything and everything, you’re usually your own worst enemy.
Good bloggers don’t do this ? they’re proactive, not reactive.
They’ll switch up the tone or design of their blog only to avoid staleness. They’ll recognize others’ hesitance to guest blog as an opportunity. They’ll evaluate the actions of others, but never stop thinking for themselves.
Let the Chicken Littles be impulsive.
More times than not, the smart play is to stay the course even when chaos surrounds you.
Creative Commons Image via Joanne.
