Jonathan Citrin

In all our frenzy, we seem to have lost sight of and a hold on reality.

This morning I woke early to make my usual French-press coffee, turn on Beethoven, open every window possible to let in the crisp Michigan air, and watch the sunrise while catching up on the night’s events in international markets.

Investors fail to grasp the root of today’s volatility, incapable of determining a better strategy than the rote, myopic style they learned in years past.

The upcoming and much anticipated Facebook stock offering promises to live up to its hype. Analysts will pontificate, investors will gobble-up as many shares as possible, and the official listing of this Internet giant will mark a significant moment in finance — the most formal acceptance yet of social networking as a mainstay in our markets and economy.

After being in the finance industry for many years, beginning my practice at a major Wall Street brokerage, starting my own firm, investing millions and millions of dollars through the worst markets in decades, teaching portfolio management at the university and graduate levels to hundreds of students, traveling throughout the world

As a new year begins, many use this time to draft resolutions and envision a different future for themselves. Often, such personal promises revolve around fitness, occupation, relationships, and finance. For one, this annual process brought an odd realization about wardrobe, and implications for life.

We spend so much time and energy worried about what other people think and how the world expects us to behave. And though we all desperately want to get off the hamster wheel, life seems to have a predetermined script for everyone that can frustrate and stifle the brilliance and creativity in any of us.

In Washington, our political leaders argue constantly over spending and taxes — a fight that will no doubt make headlines in the weeks ahead. We will hear speeches, the media will be on attack, and congressional leaders and the President will be a fixation of CNN, Fox News, and more.

As with most of my better thoughts, this personal reflection took place on many long walks over various days. Ultimately, I was certainly honored, but also troubled.

In markets, randomness abounds and prediction is impossible. Nonetheless, many buy or sell based on an analyst's recommendation or a personal deduction. Investors try to account for and anticipate all factors — an already futile feat becoming increasingly more difficult in a globalized, ever more connected world.