Art of Accumulation
"There are two ways to get enough: One is to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” - G.K. Chesterton
I would like to introduce this personal sentiment that I call "Art of Accumulation.” During times like these when the markets are volatile, current events are impacting the world, and it seems like everyone is in distress, I like to stay focused and look at the bigger picture.
Emotions can distort judgement. Times before, I let my emotions get in the way of financial decisions and ended up regretting some of those mistakes still to this day. Even when it's a lot going on, I like to say to myself "intelligence over emotions." Being a critical thinker and thinking logically before I move tends to produce me a better outcome for the decisions I make. I look at this space we are in as a form of art. Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. This usually describes the art such as paintings, music, dance but this can also be used to describe decentralized finance and crypto.
After being in DeFi for a year and some change I have picked up various skills and have expanded my creative imagination. When you’re multi-chain and using various products with different utilities it's mandatory to think things through and also be creative as you experiment and try out the platforms. My biggest gains have been from being creative and trying something new. A lot of platforms can be interchangeable which can help you leverage positions and cover more ground.
I love the game of Chess and always apply it to every aspect of my life. I like to be steps ahead and exhaust all the possible outcomes that can come from the decisions I make. I also pay close attention to my opponent and their moves and see how I can capitalize off of that. In this space I don't have any opponents, so I will replace that word with "others in this space." I have been very observant and pretty disappointed with how other users act when certain things go on in the market and community. It's hard to believe that people really enjoy this space and are in it to truly win it sometimes. One thing happens and everyone is ready to FUD, give up, or sell their bags. Community is always important, but individually we need to be accountable for the decisions we are making and not just following the impulse of others. Throughout all the ups and downs, my main objective is accumulation. The definition of accumulation is the acquisition or gradual gathering of something.
The best thing I ever did was change my perspective when it comes to this space. Your mindset is your reality, and when I changed my mindset, I changed my reality. If I am always accumulating tokens, I shouldn't worry about the equivalent dollar price value of it. This is crypto, not FIAT! The dollar has no influence on me when I am accumulating tokens because eventually even if tokens go down, they usually tend to go back up. This can put you at an advantage, especially when others think that selling their tokens is a better move. I believe this is the #1 roadblock of users in this space. Once your perspective changes in this space, it helps you become more clear-headed and truly analyze the decisions you make with better efficiency. I'll give an example.
Let's say I am earning 300% APR on any given token when it is currently valued at $4. Let's say another user is also earning at this same rate. Then let's pretend that the value of the token goes down to $2 and the other user decides to sell their bag for stables and hold it until the price levels back out so they can "buy back in." Let's then pretend I choose to stay in the farm over the course of 2 months which is the duration it takes for the token to get back to $4. Over this time frame, I have accumulated x amount of tokens while the other user held stables and could've also been earning. Now my position has increased from the accumulation and balanced price appreciation putting me at an advantage rather then me doubting my move. This is not always the case, but many situations re-occur and sometimes it's easy to understand certain outcomes when you really pay attention to the space and different factors that contribute to changes.
That was just one general example but there are other complex examples I won't bore you with. I say all of this to say that if you are really in this market to earn, then earn! Stop looking at the equivalent USD amount for tokens that aren't even backed by USD. This is digital currency. If you aren't sure about a token that's where due diligence comes in. This market really takes studying and learning to be best effective. You can't always listen to other opinions if there isn't any concrete evidence behind their motives. A lot of people tend to follow the crowd but it's safe to say that the crowd is normally wrong. Everyone has different positions and goals for them in this space, but we all should be focused on some type of accumulation when we are investing.
Accumulation is an art in my perspective because I have found so many cool ways to accumulate that wouldn’t have even been possible if I didn’t change my perspective and open my mind up. It definitely takes creativity to partake in endless loops and use multiple protocols and blockchains to achieve a common goal. I encourage everyone to find multiple ways to accumulate, and even try new ways of accumulating. You never know where the rabbit hole may take you.