“It’s not the falling that will get you… it’s the landing that hurts”
Not too far from my childhood home, there was an old tree that loomed over the steep hillside in the woods. The perfect environment for the ideal rope swing. The neighborhood kids used to meet there after school for the usual rough housing and adrenaline seeking. One by one, we would take turns swinging from the tree over what felt like the Cliffs of Dover.
It was the usual setup for a rope swing. A well-placed rope over a thick branch. There was a convenient loop at the end of the rope, for easy grip and safety precautions. As the frequency of swings increased, so did the risks that were taken. One would see how many twists and turns they could do in one swing. Others would take a running start. The limitation was simple, we could only walk back so far to get a running start.
Then one friend spoke up with the brilliant idea. He said, “Let’s pick up one of us and carry him back to get more motion forward”. As body weights and heights were compared among us, I happened to be the chosen one for this once-in-a-lifetime voyage.
I put my hand through the safety loop, wrapped it around my wrist, and took hold of the rope as my scrawny body was lifted in preparation for flight. The moment of truth had arrived as my crew stood ready for launch. 3. 2. 1. Lift off!
They pushed me with all their strength forward as I was put in motion for greatness… until I realized I had not trained for this. The gravitational force overwhelmed my grip. I was without hope. One hand slips and loses grip, while the other gets stuck. Yes! The safety loop is saving my life! I will return to solid ground and greet my friends with my successful journey… or so I thought.
As I swung to the furthest distance away from my crew, I started to experience the weightlessness you experience when your motion changes from up to down. Like a rollercoaster, my stomach turns as I turn to see the safety loop loosen from my hand. All of the sudden, I realize that I am now moving away from the rope. I’m going in the wrong direction… I’m falling without a parachute.
Gravity has no master. I plummet to the earth with no hope in sight, falling three stories to my doom. This is where my luck begins…
My landing could not have been luckier. The season was autumn, and I fell into a natural pile of leaves that had accumulated naturally over the past month or so. Mother nature put a landing pad in place for me to use during this time of need. As I hit the ground, my crew races down the hillside to assess the damages as they start to rehearse why it is not their fault that their friend broke his (fill in the blank). To their surprise, I sprung up without a scratch before they could arrive. Not even a bruise was on my body.
It’s not the falling that will get you… it’s the landing that hurts and I got lucky that day. Today, we are seeing the markets fall. Falling, in itself, if not a desirable situation. As much as we don’t like the falling, it is what you will do when you hit the bottom that counts. At Decker Retirement Planning, we are using two-sided models that are designed to make money in up or down markets. We have a retirement recovery program to help you get your retirement back to where it needs to be. We are the soft landing you need in times like these.
If you are experiencing the pain the markets are causing right now, don’t wait. We invite you to schedule a FREE 30 min call with one of our planners to discuss how you can start taking the steps to a safer retirement. Link below.
