Spiritual investing: How to become a spiritual investor

Dear Happy Investor, you may think that spirituality and investing have no relationship at all. Isn't spirituality just very floaty, and investing very rational? Yes and no. Spirituality can be very applicable. And investing can be very emotional. When you think more deeply about it, there is a strong relationship between them. You can be an investor without being spiritual, but your investments can benefit from a more spiritual lifestyle. Likewise, investing can give you many spiritual lessons. There is a way to become a spiritual investor 😉. 

In this article, you will find ways to incorporate spiritual principles into your investing strategies. Applying these principles will increase your success, both financially and emotionally.

8x How spiritual investing leads to sustainable financial success

In summary, this article includes 8 reasons (why and) how spiritual investing leads to sustainable financial success. Applying these 8 aspects will give you higher returns in the long run. Let's look at them point by point.

Spiritual investing: Stay calm

The worst investing decisions come from emotional investing. When you are afraid you will lose money, you can make mistakes you may regret. In the case of investing, the best decisions imply being calm, even when difficulties start to appear.

Detachment is a state in which a person overcomes their attachment to desires for things, people, or notions of the world, allowing them to get a more expansive view of the universe. Detachment is a key concept in Zen Buddhism philosophy, and it refers to being free of one's thoughts. It is to intellectually and emotionally detach oneself from one's thoughts and opinions to avoid being harmed by them.

Simply put, detachment means letting go of fear, freeing yourself from your thoughts and emotions, because you can’t trust them. When you detach yourself from your emotions, you can make smarter decisions, especially when it comes to investing.

This is what a spiritual investor does: before making any investment choice, inhale deeply, hold your breath and exhale. Repeat until you feel calm.

It is powerful to combine this with set rules within your investment strategy. We only want to buy unique companies at a favorable stock price. However, there are times when the market is euphoric. Prices pop up. So does the stock you have your eye on. You know you should wait based on financial analysis, but still you buy the stock. Because you do not want to miss out on future profits. In other words: you act on emotions and not on fixed rules (e.g. based on price/earnings ratio and ROE). 

Spiritual Investing: Diversify (find balance)

In terms of investing, diversity means not putting all of your eggs in the same basket. There is more safety in numbers when it comes to stocks and bonds. Do your research first, and then diversify your investment funds by company, industry, country, and risk.

Diversifying your resources also has to do with diversifying your time and energy. You know what they say "time is money." 

If you spend your whole day worrying about your investments, you won't enjoy the process. Besides, you will neglect other meaningful aspects of your life. Therefore, make sure you diversify your time and energy so you can devote time to your friends, family, and yourself. To have a diversified investing portfolio will give you more peace of mind. 

Spiritual Investing: Learn from your mistakes

Spiritual philosophies teach us to learn from mistakes instead of obsessing over them. The same applies to investing. Even the most successful investors experience failures, but they embraced it and move on. So, accepting failure is the first step to developing an investor mindset. The key to success is to understand that losses are an inevitable element of any investment process.

It’s easier to accept your failures in investing when you acknowledge your mistakes in other aspects of your life. Do not see this as a mistake, but as an opportunity to learn from. A spiritual investor has more sustainable success because he or she also applies these principles in her life. Yes, we make mistakes. At work, in relationships, and everywhere. So what. Heads up. Learn from them. And move on.  

Apply the law of attraction

Spirituality shows us that the outer world reflects the inner world. Simply put, like attracts like. This is the principle of the law of attraction. So, If you want to succeed in the physical world, you need to organize things in your inner world. How are you thinking? How are you feeling? Are your thoughts and emotions aligned with what you want to achieve? On what you truly desire.

Your mindset determines your emotions and actions, and therefore, it designs your reality. Invest your time and efforts to develop positive mindset. Let go of limiting beliefs and anything that is holding you back. Think in opportunities. Think in abundance. Believe that investing can give you a better life.

Once you align your thoughts and emotions with your goals, you can start to make them a reality. In practice, this means to remind yourself daily in what you desire and want to achieve. Make your financial goal as concrete as possible. How much money do you want at a certain age? What are you going to do with it? How will you feel when you have this money? By simply thinking about this, you will take more action to achieve it. This is autosuggestion.

Want to know more? Read all about how to apply law of attraction in daily life. 

Care about the footprint you leave behind

We leave a legacy. Every action we do, as well as every financial decision we make, leaves an indelible mark. It is up to us to determine what that trace will be. That requires us to move beyond the outdated model of developing a company only to maximize personal wealth and shareholder profit. Profits will always be an important element of the equation, but they can't be the most important aspect, and they surely can't be the only metric, as we focus on maximizing our impact.

This is why companies that genuinely want to improve the world are growing so fast. They touch emotional drivers in people. The why is strong, and that attracts people. Moreover, management makes decisions in the interest of its why. This usually prevents malpractices such as scandals. And therefore by not focusing exclusively on profit, a company can actually become more profitable.

Being a spiritual investor, for example, means doing everything possible to encourage the companies and founders in which you invest to consider their impact and incorporate it into their culture. Or, more likely, the other way around: invest only in companies with ethical management that work to make the world a better place, and keep its promises.

Ask yourself, what companies am I investing in? What are their values? What effect do they have in the world?

As a spiritual investor, you would avoid investing in companies that exploit their employees, are cruel to animals, or pollute the planet.

Help others

Altruism and charity are essential parts of growing spiritually. However, we tell ourselves that we will only become philanthropists and do charity only after having a massive amount of money. We can't keep putting off acts of service until it's convenient for us. 

Service is what gives our lives meaning and purpose. When we emphasize other people's happiness, something magical happens: we become the happiest version of ourselves.

Adding Value

By adding maximum value to others, you will not only make their world better. It will also make you better. Suppose you go for the highest quality every day at work. The lives of your colleagues, supervisor and customers will be better. Sooner or later, this will work out positively for you. And from my experience this is sooner rather than later 😉. 

From a spiritual perspective, we can say: don't wait until you are a millionaire to help others. The millionaire T. Harv Eker recommends allocating a percentage of your monthly income to help others and engage in charity. You may not be able to donate as much money as Bill Gates does, but you can make a difference in someone's life.

I, someone who is involved with financial purpose on a daily basis, find this difficult. I also find it not tangible enough. That's why I choose to give money only to people who work hard for it or really need it. Think of tipping in a poor country while traveling, or buying services from a small entrepreneur who gives 100%. Moreover, you don't have to give only money. You can also think in other means, such as time, energy and knowledge. I add a lot of value to others as I help them achieve greater financial success. Me happy, them happy. Win-Win.

How can you add more value at work, in relationships, and in other areas?

Be patient, don't rush.

It’s about the journey, not the destination. We spend our whole lives fearing the future. We are constantly worrying about our next task, or we are busy all the time. That makes us exhausted, frustrated, and overwhelmed. 

If the center of your life is your future, then you certainly can’t enjoy the present. 

This seems to be in conflict with setting concrete goals. After all, concrete goals are eminently forward-looking and require certain focus. Fortunately, there is no conflict. We want to set concrete goals so we know what course we are on. But at the same time, we enjoy the journey and have no expectations of the destination. We do want to get there very badly. The intention is strong. But should the course deviate slightly, that is okay as long as we are content with this.

There is nothing wrong with being cautious and thoughtful. It's important to make the right choices so we won't regret them later. However, If someone is constantly worried about what happens next, that will affect their mental and physical health.

Spirituality teaches us to live one day at a time and enjoy the present. That is essential when it comes to investing because it is a long-term choice. Therefore, above all, we need to be patient. Let money work for us. Accumulating return on return.

Also, rushing causes us to make wrong decisions. For example, those “get-rich-quick” schemes are generally frauds. Don’t trust anyone that tells you that you can get rich without doing any work.

If you expect instant results and want to become a millionaire overnight, investing is not for you. In this case, it is better to speculate with levers or by investing in crypto. 

Learn to be patient. Persevere, and you will see results. 

Meditate for a sharp and focused mind

Meditation is the foundation of any spiritual practice. It's like a gym for the mind. If you can control your mind, you can control your reaction to anything in life. Meditation helps you know yourself, think more clearly, and see things from a broader perspective.  Meditation helps you in every aspect of life. It's the first step to a more balanced life. And it can step up your investing game.

Meditate before making a financial decision. When making an investment decision, the serenity that emerges from meditation might help you think more clearly. It's because you're trying to listen to your intuition. Admittedly, this sounds a bit vague. To make it tangible, you can ask yourself questions with each investment. Meditate and think about questions like: why am I making this investment? Do I really want this? Is this the right choice or are there other options?

Conclusion about spiritual investing

Investing can be an enriching experience. Like anything in life, it is all about making conscious choices. When you know why you are investing and how it can help you, you can see it as a way to grow spiritually. And, of course, as you grow spiritually, it will reflect on your investment success.

Applying these principles is the first step to becoming a spiritual investor. Sounds vague, but you now know it's not. Being a "spiritual investor" has great benefits. For example, your Mind will be sharp and calm. This will enable you to make better decisions based on facts and what you really want. Emotions, the biggest pitfall in investing, will be avoided. You will also be more diversified in your portfolio, as you strive for balance (in life). And the investments you make are made from an ethical point of view. This will prevent you from investing in dubious or environmentally damaging companies, and this will reduce the chances of scandals and losses. 

And so there are other benefits if we consider the relationship between spirituality and investing. What I think is important is not to get stuck in the vague. Try to make the lessons, from each domain, as concrete as possible. Ask yourself: how can this wisdom help me towards better results? Be and act practical.