New Delhi, Dec. 26 -- Walk into any corporate cafeteria or join a family gathering, and the conversation eventually drifts to money. The question of the hour is usually a simple one: "What's the best performing mutual fund right now?" or "Is now a good time to invest in the stock market?" These questions are both commonly asked yet represent a misguided approach for Indian investors.

The Indian investor's psyche has always been ruled by the single obsession of maximizing returns. We view investing as a race in which our sole objective is to run faster. But this is a fundamentally flawed philosophy that inevitably sets us on a vicious cycle of anxiety, lousy decisions, and financial disappointment.

True financial well-being doesn't start...