Being a "better" contrarian investor

I for some sick reason am drawn to contrarian investment ideas. I like laughing at the latest hot investing trend; for example, the current housing mania. I did however find that during the last two years, I spent a lot of time looking for ways to criticize the mania more or less so I could find a way to keep the pressure off from my friends and relatives to get a house and a mortgage.

This was a big waste of time. Being a bear in a market with upward momentum is impossible. Trying to call a top is something the smartest investors have a hard time doing. There will be a lot of air coming out on the downside and one is unlikely to miss it but waiting for the top can drive one nuts.

That's why I've found it far more productive to instead go hunting for the next bubble while everyone is chasing around the current one. How does one know its a bubble by the way? If one is reading about it and one grin starts getting to big, to the point of giddyness one may be becoming emotional and losing perspective. Manic handwringing should be avoided to. If any of these two situations occur it can be difficult to be open to new information that could change ones perspective on a future of an investment.

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