The markets had been relatively calm seas for over 10 years, but recently, the current has shifted, winds have picked up and now the sight line is a bit foggy.
You have been charting your clients’ journeys, guiding them to stay on track to their destination. As COVID-19 impacts the market, it is time to remain steadfast, strong and committed for your clients, your staff and your families. Whether you have experienced these rough seas before or it is your first storm, you can take peace in knowing that with each experience, we learn, train and improve.
As the captain of the ship, you need to make sure that you are taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others. After the 2008 recession, many advisors experienced depression, anxiety, problems sleeping and even post-traumatic stress disorder. It is hard to not take it personally when clients are upset and anxious. It can be draining to have emotional call after emotional call for 8 to 10 hours a day, telling the same narrative again and again.
Fulfilling first your own basic needs, as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs deems the most essential, is more important now than ever.