We've heard it before, and we know it; past performance is not an indication of future performance. The disclaimer fine print is relevant in today’s investing environment but maybe not in the way we might think. As investors we tend to try to understand what’s going on today and extrapolate the effect on us in the future. To do that, most look back in time to see when circumstances were similar, judge what happened then assume of how things will play out in the future. Looking at today’s inflation picture, the same look back is occurring. Comparisons are made to the inflationary times of the early 80’s wondering if this could happen again. Inflation is a lagging indicator, we look back at what prices were on a basket of goods and try to make accurate assumptions of what will happen next, how markets react and the impact on our own unique personal situations. Do you see the flaw in that analogy? Have you ever tried to drive to a destination looking in the rear-view mirror? Do you try to predict what the weather will be in November 2022 by looking at what the weather was like in the fall of 1983? You draw analogies but you simply cannot extrapolate past results into the future with any degree of accuracy, there are simply too many variables in play, each situation is unique. The market likes a degree of certainty, extrapolations based on the past create that sense of certainty but each economic events and the circumstances leading up to it are different. The impermanence of the conditions and circumstances are ever changing and along the way things happen that throw a wrench into the best laid plans, kind of like that old saying “life is what happens when you’ve made other plans”. As, seasoned investors, we have to be aware of the current circumstances, but we need to pay particular attention to what we can control and the most important thing we can control is how we react. As Advisors, our role is to weed out the noise, separate fact from opinion and help you make sound decisions that will help you get to your future goals. Understanding your unique financial situation, managing emotional biases and keeping our eyes on the prize is how we do it.