05 June 2025
Let me confess something.
When I made my first stock portfolio, I thought I had nailed it. A mix of bluechips, some “future multibaggers,” a few tips from TV, and a lot of confidence. It felt like a masterpiece.
It wasn’t.
It was just a first draft.
The Illusion of "Getting It Right" the First Time
In investing, your first analysis often feels right – because it's yours. You’ve read a few reports, listened to a management call, maybe even crunched some numbers. The stock looks attractive. The story sounds solid. You feel proud.
That’s where arrogance quietly walks in.
It tells you: “You’ve done the work. You’ve figured it out. No need to question it further.”
And that's exactly when mistakes are made.
Markets Don’t Reward Certainty – They Reward Adaptability
The stock market isn’t a place for fixed answers. It’s a world of moving targets – business models evolve, risks emerge, cycles turn. What looked perfect six months ago can turn fragile tomorrow.
That’s why the most successful investors I know operate from humility.
They review their portfolios. They revisit their assumptions. They’re open to feedback, new information, even criticism. They don’t fall in love with their first draft – they refine, rethink, and improve it constantly.
The Role of Humility in Long-Term Success
Humility in investing means:
It’s not weakness. It’s wisdom.
Because markets have a brutal way of humbling the arrogant. But they tend to reward those who stay grounded and keep learning.
Even the Best Portfolios Need Editing
A great investor doesn’t treat their portfolio as a statue carved in stone. They treat it like a living document – evolving with time, with effort, with insight.
Warren Buffett famously exited Tesco, IBM, and other long-held investments when he realized his original thesis was no longer valid. That’s not inconsistency. That’s humility in action.
Your portfolio isn’t perfect. It’s a working draft. Every annual report you read, every market signal you interpret, every mistake you admit – these are edits that make it stronger.
Final Thoughts
In investing – and in life – the first draft is never the final masterpiece.
Arrogance tries to freeze it.
Humility pushes to improve it.
If you want to last in the markets, stay humble. Keep refining your process, reviewing your positions, and revisiting your beliefs.
Because the pursuit of improvement never really ends – and that’s where the real compounding happens.
To your success,
Dr. Anil Kumar Asnani
SEBI Reg. Research Analyst
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