Then I Remembered This…

I’ll be honest. The last little while has been uncomfortable.

I’ve caught myself opening my accounts more often than I should, staring at the numbers a little longer each time. There is a quiet weight that comes with that. Retirement has a way of doing that. When the paycheque stops, the market suddenly feels a lot more personal.

I manage my own investments through Wealthsimple. It has always given me a sense of control and a feeling of independence. Lately, even that has come with a few second guesses as I watch things move in the wrong direction. Every day the market seems to lose more and more.

My mind didn’t take long to wander into, ‘What’s next?’ or ‘How low can it go?’

I thought back to the Great Depression. Stories of people losing everything, of long lines outside banks, of uncertainty that seemed to stretch on without end.

It went to 2008, when the system itself looked like it might crack. I remember watching the news and hearing names like Lehman Brothers, trying to understand how something that big could simply disappear. In my own workplace at the time, the company went through a major downsizing and I, somehow was spared losing my job.

Then came 2020. The world slowed to a stop during the COVID-19 pandemic. Planes grounded, businesses closed, streets went quiet. The company I worked for actually closed our main travel product for over a full year. Markets dropped fast and hard, and for a moment it felt like we were heading into something far deeper.

Each of those moments carried a different kind of fear. A heavier kind.

While I do feel a heaviness in my financial soul, this time does feel different.

There is noise. Plenty of it. Much of it tied to what is happening in the United States, and the uncertainty surrounding leadership and direction, including Donald Trump. It is easy to watch the headlines and let your mind fill in the blanks. It is easy to be emotional about money.

That is exactly where I found myself.

Then, finally I decided to take a step back.

I started reading a few of the updates coming from Wealthsimple. Nothing overly technical. Just calm, steady reminders of how markets have behaved over time. Historical context. A longer view. The kind of perspective that is easy to forget when everything feels immediate.

It helped. Information and perspective really has a power in itself.

What we are seeing right now is a market adjusting. It may not feel gentle. It rarely does. Still, the system underneath it continues to function. Banks are operating. Businesses are open. People are working. The foundation is still there.

That distinction settled something in me.

I am not a financial planner. I do not offer advice. I am simply someone who has lived through a few cycles, built a life over many years, and is now watching things unfold from a different seat.

Experience has a way of softening the edges of moments like this.

Markets have never moved in straight lines. They rise, they fall, they correct, and over time they find their footing again. The path is never smooth. The outcome, historically, has been steady.

Looking back, the most difficult moments always felt like they might last forever. They never did.

There is a quiet reassurance in that.

This moment asks for patience more than anything else. It asks for a steady hand and a bit of perspective. Nothing about that is easy when the numbers on the screen are moving in the wrong direction.

Still, there is value in remembering that a few rough months do not define the full story.

I built what I have over a lifetime. One stretch of market volatility does not change that. It simply becomes another chapter in a much longer journey.

If you’re feeling uneasy, you’re in good company. Many of us are watching the same screens and feeling the same pause. While I recognize that everyone has their own risk tolerance and financial needs, for me; sometimes the most sensible thing to do is nothing at all. Sit with it. Let it pass. Give it time to settle.

That approach has carried me through before.

I have a feeling it will again.