Great point about cash needing a job. Many people are still paralysed by market swings and holding too much 'idle' money. For someone just starting their 2026 reset, would you recommend prioritising the 'intentional exposure' shift or the 'system design' shift first?
If there’s no structure, even the best exposure decisions fall apart the moment markets get uncomfortable. People don’t freeze because they lack knowledge, they freeze because too many decisions show up at once. Simple systems remove that pressure. They keep money moving, limits clear, and emotions from taking over. Once that foundation is in place, intentional exposure becomes much easier to hold onto when volatility hits.
Great point about cash needing a job. Many people are still paralysed by market swings and holding too much 'idle' money. For someone just starting their 2026 reset, would you recommend prioritising the 'intentional exposure' shift or the 'system design' shift first?
System design comes first, almost always.
If there’s no structure, even the best exposure decisions fall apart the moment markets get uncomfortable. People don’t freeze because they lack knowledge, they freeze because too many decisions show up at once. Simple systems remove that pressure. They keep money moving, limits clear, and emotions from taking over. Once that foundation is in place, intentional exposure becomes much easier to hold onto when volatility hits.
The “discipline → systems” shift hit home.
Feels like everyone believes they’re failing because they can’t brute-force habits — but the world itself got more chaotic, noisy, unpredictable.
Designing defaults instead of chasing willpower might be the most underrated financial “edge” this year.
Agreed. Willpower doesn’t compound. Systems do.