In this festive spirit, the "Elephant God" is the epitome of knowledge (vidya) and abundance of wisdom (buddhi). From the elephant head, ears, and trunk, to the little mouse at his feet, every part of Lord Ganesha is symbolic for traits and qualities we can imbibe for a successful and good life.

As a financial writer, I couldn't help but share some relatable lessons with you, investors.

(Image source: pixabay; Image credit: SUMITKUMAR SAHARE)
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Lesson 1: Big Head represents Wisdom

The massive head represents broad-mindedness, forward thinking, and a vast ocean of knowledge. As per some versions of the myth, Lord Ganesh's head was acquired from an elephant and personifies wisdom and intelligence.

As an ardent devotee and/or a keen investor, the Elephant god teaches us to keep an open mind, think prudently, and seek knowledge. Keeping your mind open will help you look at all the options and make wiser investment decisions.

Draw up a smart goal-based financial plan and prudently act on it to secure your future. Think forwardly to anticipate how your investment would grow after 3 years, 5 years, and 10 years considering the effect of inflation on different investment avenues and accordingly choose the type of investment avenue.

Lesson 2: Big Ears are symbolic for good listening skills

Without good listening skills, communication would be incomplete. Ganesha's big ears indicate that he is a good listener. Similarly, in order to be a good investor, one must be a good listener. A good investor listens with ears wide open to sound financial advice only.

When you ask relevant queries and listen to the advice of an ethical, unbiased, experienced, and research-backed financial adviser, you will make better investment decisions. Remember to always involve your family in the decision-making process and listen their financial goals and desires.

Consider your ears as funnels to filter the important advice from the irrelevant ones. Keep your ears to the ground for any relevant news reports and the events happenings around to guide you in making well-informed investment decisions.

Listening in conjugation with wisdom will enable you to filter and choose what is right for you. Keep in mind your requirements, aspirations, and desires in terms of your financial goals, investment horizon, financial standing, age, risk profile, and the number of years left for the completion of your goal.

Lesson 3: Focus from the Eyes

If you would have observed Lord Ganesha's small eyes are sharp, they tell us about his focused approach to achieve anything and looking at the details with concentration. Likewise, as an investor you should always focus on your individual goal-based investment plan.

It will enable you to carefully create a well-diversified strategic portfolio based on your asset allocation that will strive to beat the inflation and accomplish your financial goals. Plus, it will also help you eliminate the unnecessary noise of the herd.

Having a holistic view and a long-term approach helps to maintain and grow wealth.

Lesson 4: Adaptability from the Trunk

The flexibility of Ganesha's trunk represents his adaptable nature and he follows what is righteous. Hence, the lord is also known as Vakratundaya.

As an investor, you need to track and review your investment portfolio to see if its performance is aiding your journey of wealth creation.

Evaluate your portfolio on a regular basis to know when to be patient about holding on to a particular investment and when it's time to change it.

Plus, be aware of any new investment options, with an open view, to efficiently adjust your portfolio. And keep track of any significant news that could impact your financial plan and investment.

Lesson 5: Removal of bad from One-Tusk

Ekdantaya (one-tusked) is another name for Lord Ganesha. His one tusk is symbolic for weeding out the bad from the good.

Many investors do not realise which are the bad investments for their portfolio. Holding on to the underperformers in your portfolio is as equally damaging as the removal of a worthy investment from your portfolio.

Carefully sift the underperformers from the outperformers when you review your portfolio and eliminate these funds, if you want to accomplish your goals faster.

​Lesson 6: Large stomach represents greater endurance:

The enormous stomach of Lord Ganesha teaches you to streamline the investments as if you are eating your meal or lord's favourite sweet dish (Modak) in small bites. Your investments should be made according to your appetite (risk, age, financial situation).

It would be best to invest systematically and diligently. So start small via the SIP route; you can gradually increase the amount according to your financial capacity. Due to the rupee-cost averaging in volatile markets and the power of compounding, your money will grow over time.

And at the same time, investing a lump sum in short-term funds can serve to build your contingency reserve. Contingency reserves (or emergency funds) are a means to take care of your and your family's expenses during an emergency, such as loss of a job, markets crashing, medical emergency, or any unfortunate event that comes with an economic loss for a period.

For these reasons, it is advisable to set aside about 12 months of your regular expenses in a savings bank account or you can also opt for sweep in account, flexi deposit, or liquid funds or overnight funds if you desire a better rate of interest. Many people do not maintain a contingency fund and undergo both financial and emotional trauma during harsh or extraordinary circumstances.

Lesson 7: Not being biased from Axe

The axe wielded by Ganesha tells us about not falling prey to emotions or any form of biases during investments. Think logically and freely, do not let the short-term undercurrents of market downswings cause you to lose your peace of mind. Do not redeem your investments or discontinue your SIP during this phase. In fact, think like a successful investor, focus on the long-term prize (Ganpati's favourite dish modak) of accumulated wealth.

Similarly, when you see an excessive loss in your portfolio over the long term due to consistent underperformance across various market cycles, or a sudden change of your risk ability, do not harbour any anchoring bias to that investment because it's unhealthy for your financial well-being.

Lesson 8: Simple living (Humility) from Mouse (Vahana)

The tiny mouse in Hindu mythology is represented as the vehicle or vahana of Lord Ganesha. It speaks of his humility, demonstrating the most important lesson of life: Simple living, high thinking. Learning to live within your means is the first step; saving more than you spend, avoiding impulsive purchases via credit card offers and seeking instant gratification. Let go of detrimental spending habits, fix a budget, then save and invest wisely. Higher thinking empowers you to aspire for a better tomorrow through a robust financial plan.

Conclusion:

I hope you will try to imbibe these 8 lessons for your overall financial wellbeing. Develop your pool of knowledge and gain wisdom from your successes and mistakes. Perseverance grows wealth.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

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