在投資上，「學習」操作相對容易，但「實踐」我們該做的事卻令人意外的困難。我們可能是自己最大的敵人，尤其是在市場異常波動時，就像今年的狀況。

區分頂級專業投資者和一般投資人的一項素質，需要很多年的育成：就是情緒的自我控制。我們的情緒很容易受到新聞和市場事件影響，讓我們在錯誤的時間採取行動。所有人都想「買低賣高」，但在情緒上，這兩者都是很難做到的。

例如，有些投資者會想在價值增加時「高價賣出」。但人性的貪婪會在此時介入，促使投資者貪圖更多。「低價購買」也不容易。價格下跌代表經濟疲軟、負面消息出現，人們感覺悲觀或對未來不確定。在壓力下，情緒往往決定著我們的行動。我們傾向於等待事態轉為正面，而非趁低買入。

即使我們遵循健全、有規則的投資策略，也需要自律以克服情緒，信任系統化的決定。以下是聖經中關於建立投資心理素質的七個建議：

務要謙卑。接受「日光之下並無新事」（傳道書1章9節），事實早已證明，上帝在聖經中給我們的指示是實際且有效的。祂已經提供了優先順序和準則，都是為了保護我們。拋棄它們意味著我們相信自己的想法遠勝於祂的旨意。  

謹慎盡責。把自己視為上帝所給予資源的管家，承認不當風險會危害祂的財富。你不僅僅是在為自己投資而已，還要用負責任的方式增加資產來養家，並慷慨付出，協助傳播耶穌基督的福音。

做好準備。制定一份書面計劃，列出你的投資策略，反映出你個人的目標和能接受的風險範圍。了解自己的投資組合模式，以及每個部分扮演的角色。然後讓你的買入與賣出完全跟著自己的計劃走。作一個主動發起的投資者，而不是被動反應的投資人。

能夠知足。過度關注大筆的獲利很危險。「但那些想要發財的人，就陷在迷惑、落在網羅……貪財是萬惡之根……」（提摩太前書6章9-10節）因此，在制定計劃時，要有合理的野心。貪婪造成的金錢損失比其他因素都要多。

該多樣化。確保你的投資是分散的。「你要分給七人，或分給八人，因為你不知道將來有甚麼災禍臨到地上。」（傳道書11章2節）集中投資在一個或兩個機會中，也許能帶來較高的利潤，卻也可能引致驚人的損失。   要有耐心。我們可以從那位主人「長期」出差時，讓僕人們按照才幹接受託付的比喻中得到啟示（馬太福音25章14-29節）：制定一個長期的投資計畫，追求穩定的積累財富，從容處理市場的高低起伏。時間是投機者的敵人，卻是投資者的朋友。

負起責任。告訴你的配偶或可信賴的基督徒朋友你的計劃，並每季和他們一起檢查一次，顯明你如何忠實地遵守計劃。任何想踏出計畫外的念頭，都會被這個誠實問責的行為管束。

奧斯丁˙普賴爾(Austin Pryor)有40年為投資者提供諮詢服務的經驗，他同時也是Sound Mind Investing newsletter and website (健全心靈投資通訊和網站)的創始人。他是健全心靈投資手冊(The Sound Mind)的作者，該手冊受到許多受人敬重的基督教教師認可，銷售量超過10萬份。普賴爾目前與他53歲的妻子蘇西住在肯塔基州的路易斯維爾。

反省與問題討論

1. 在能力範圍內，你的投資策略是什麼？你是否有正式的計劃、依賴投資顧問，還是傾向根據情緒做出投資決定？
2. 你如何看待文章中提到的「能夠知足」這項建議？你是否容易滿足自己現在的情況和所擁有的東西，還是你會爭取更多，或是不同的事物？請解釋你的答案。
3. 從投資的角度來看，「務要謙卑」意味著什麼？
4. 你認為文章中的哪項投資建議最有道理？為什麼？

備註：想知道聖經中關於這個主題的更多信息，請參考以下經文(因經文篇幅較長，請參閱未列出的經文箴言11:25、22:9)：

箴言13章11節
13:11 不勞而得之財必然消耗；勤勞積蓄的，必見加增。
箴言15章16節
15:16 少有財寶，敬畏耶和華，強如多有財寶，煩亂不安。
馬太福音6章19-24節、33-34節
6:19 「不要為自己積攢財寶在地上；地上有蟲子咬，能銹壞，也有賊挖窟窿來偷。
6:20 只要積攢財寶在天上；天上沒有蟲子咬，不能銹壞，也沒有賊挖窟窿來偷。
6:21 因為你的財寶在哪裏，你的心也在那裏。」
6:22 「眼睛就是身上的燈。你的眼睛若瞭亮，全身就光明；
6:23 你的眼睛若昏花，全身就黑暗。你裏頭的光若黑暗了，那黑暗是何等大呢！」
6:24 「一個人不能事奉兩個主；不是惡這個、愛那個，就是重這個、輕那個。你們不能又事奉神，又事奉瑪門（瑪門：財利的意思）。」
6:33 你們要先求他的國和他的義，這些東西都要加給你們了。
6:34 所以，不要為明天憂慮，因為明天自有明天的憂慮；一天的難處一天當就夠了。」
哥林多後書9章6-11節
9:6 「少種的少收，多種的多收」，這話是真的。
9:7 各人要隨本心所酌定的，不要作難，不要勉強，因為捐得樂意的人是　神所喜愛的。
9:8 　神能將各樣的恩惠多多地加給你們，使你們凡事常常充足，能多行各樣善事。
9:9 如經上所記：他施捨錢財，賙濟貧窮；他的仁義存到永遠。
9:10 那賜種給撒種的，賜糧給人吃的，必多多加給你們種地的種子，又增添你們仁義的果子；9:11 叫你們凡事富足，可以多多施捨，就藉著我們使感謝歸於　神。

SEVEN QUALITIES OF A DISCIPLINED INVESTOR

By Austin Pryor

When it comes to investing, learning what to do is relatively easy. But doing what we are supposed to do is surprisingly hard. We can be our own worst enemies, especially when the market becomes unusually volatile, as it has been this year.

One quality that separates top professional investors from the rest of us can take years to develop: emotional self-control. Our emotions interact with news and market events in ways that incline us to act at the wrong times. We all want to “buy low and sell high,” but emotionally, it is very difficult to do either.

For example, few investors are willing to “sell high,” when valuations are increasing. Our natural greed tends to kick in, causing investors to want even more. Nor is it easy to “buy low.” Prices drop because the economy is weak, news is bad, and people are pessimistic or uncertain. Under pressure, emotions tend to dictate our actions. Rather than buy, we tend to wait until information seems more positive.

Even following a sound, rules-based strategy for investing requires self-discipline to overcome emotions and trust the system. Here are seven biblically based suggestions for how to grow in that area:

Be Humble. Accept that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), so instructions God has given us in the Scriptures have proven to be practical and effective. The priorities and guidelines He has provided are for our protection. Abandoning them means we trust our own thinking more than in His.
 
Be Conscientious. See yourself as a caretaker of what God has given you. Acknowledge taking undue risks jeopardizes His wealth. You are investing not just in this for yourself, but to responsibly increase assets to provide for your family, and give more generously to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
Be Prepared. Develop a written plan that lays out your investment strategy, reflecting your personal goals and desired level of risk. Understand how your investments fit together and the role each part plays. Then let your buying and selling be dictated solely by your plan. Be an initiator, not a responder.
 
Be Content. A preoccupation with large profits can be dangerous. “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap…. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). So in drawing up your plan, have reasonable ambitions. More money is lost due to greed than any other factor.
 
Be Diversified. Make sure your plan divides “your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth” (Ecclesiastes 11:2). Higher profits might be made concentrating your money in one or two opportunities, but staggering losses can be incurred as well.
 
Be Patient. Take a cue from the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-29), where the master was away for “a long time”: Make your strategy a long-term one that aspires to build wealth slowly, taking up-and-down market cycles in stride. Time is the speculator’s enemy, but the investor’s friend.
 
Be Accountable. Show your plan to your spouse or a trusted Christian friend and review it with them quarterly to show how you are being faithful in following it. Any thoughts of taking steps outside your strategy will be tempered by the realization you will have to give an honest accounting to your friend.

Austin Pryor has 40 years of experience advising investors and is the founder of the Sound Mind Investing newsletter and website. He is the author of The Sound Mind Investing Handbook, which enjoys the endorsements of respected Christian teachers with more than 100,000 copies sold. Austin lives in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. To the extent you are able, what is your investment strategy? Do you have a formalized plan, do you rely on an adviser, or do you tend to make any investment decisions based on emotions?
2. What is your reaction to the investment suggestion to “be content”? Do you find it easy to be contented with your circumstances and what you have, or are you usually striving for more – or something different? Explain your answer. 
3. From an investing standpoint, what do you think it means to “be humble”?
4. Which of the other suggestions makes the most sense to you – and why?

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages:
Proverbs 11:25, 13:11, 15:16, 22:9; Matthew 6:19-24,33-34; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11