Hawke's Bay Today columnist Caroline Ritchie.
They say that it is the incremental change that gets you, not the big shocks.
A frog won't hop out of a pan of hot water (apparently) if you heat it gently. He realises his mistake too late, and is cooked. Or, take our environment, in which we have destroyed 90 per cent of the large fish stocks since the 1950s.
Or, look at money, where in America 52 per cent of the population has no assets - not a single one. We did not magic ourselves into these situations overnight.
Conversely, but the same principle, is the couple who save a quarter of their pay every month for 40 years and retire with a million or two in the bank. They will report back to you, patiently, as they explain it over and over; we got rich very, very slowly.
It is easy to look up and compress or expand time and think "Ooops!" or "Woohoo!" or some other form of expression-of-the-moment where we dismiss events that happen to us into thin air, forget them, and race to the next thing.
The everyday rigour seems to be missing. We are leading a disposable, extra-sensational existence. All our selfies have to be stunning, or we re-do them a thousand times, crying into the phone. Each day at work is supposed to be exciting and thrilling and crammed to the max with success and purpose. Where has the ordinary gone? And what is so wrong with a bit of a grind?
We ought to be able to resist the longing to keep up with our self-selected tribes, shouldn't we? Still, we indulge like never before, flinging common sense and cash out of the window.
With money, though this is an unpopular message, it is the boring, the normal and the bland that gets the job done. It is doing what your Granny (who survived a direct hit in World War II by being blown around a corner and getting trapped under a fallen door) would do: practise moderation.
Moderation! What a dirty word! Because now, we are expected to stretch ourselves across the spectrum of everything, being outstanding and out there and cool at all times. This does not work for money. But moderation does. It is one of a few small constants left.
Humans are not built for it, obviously, that is why things like retirement and savings schemes which lock in our cash are so brilliant. Without them only the lucky or the incredibly strong end up on the golf course with silver hair and anything else to show for it. Make good use of this stuff. In the day to day wash up, progress may seem slow. Rest assured, this is the perfect position. Keep going!
It is a modern paradox that we find ourselves where we do right now. With easy access for most to the only critical tool for survival (money) the need for the approval of others (which kept us alive in the Stone Age Village) should have diminished. Yet it has never been more pervasive. Why?
Well, as the evolutionary psychologists will tell you, we also got wired to look for another thing way back 80,000 years ago; happiness. It appears the old phrase might ring true after all! Ha! While you wait a lifetime to find out what your currency may or may not buy you, save a few bikkies each week, just in case.
Caroline Ritchie is a former AFA, sharebroker & portfolio manager. She runs Investment Stuff, a sharemarket based investment coaching service. Visit her at www.investmentstuff.co.nz This column is not personalised financial advice