When I was growing up, one of the worst things that could be said about you was that you were a quitter. But being a quitter has gotten a bad rap. I'm here to speak up for quitters everywhere, letting you know that quitting can be a good thing.

After all, it's good to quit doing bad things, right? And it's only bad when you quit doing good things. That seems clear. Where it gets murky is discerning which things are good and which are bad. This can even be problematic in the area of investing. Fortunately, I'm here to save you from hopeless confusion. Here are a half dozen things that are definitely in the "bad" camp. If you haven't already, you can immediately:

• Quit standing on the sidelines. Compound interest is a powerful engine of growth, and it runs on the fuel of time. You want all the time on your side you can possibly get. Of course, you also want good returns. Based on 100+ years of history, we know the best returns come from owning well-managed, growing businesses. For the average person who wants to grow their surplus capital at a rate that's faster than inflation, stocks are their best option. Regardless of whether you think you don't know enough about investing, it's time to become a part-owner of corporate America.

• Quit waiting for a low risk entry point. It's doubtful you're going to recognize a "low risk" entry point when one arrives because capital risk is low when emotional risk is high. That is, when the economic news is worrisome, stock prices are lower. And buying at lower prices reduces your capital risk. Actually, every day offers a low risk entry if you're invested in a diversified stock fund portfolio and you're committed to at least a five-year holding period—95% of the time you'll breakeven at worst and make up to 25% per year at best. Similarly, over a ten-year period it's almost impossible to lose money.

• Quit looking for a reason to sell. Ignore the gloom and doom scenarios. Even in the best of times, there are always some pundits with scary things to say. The biggest risk to your future financial security isn't a bear market. It's inflation that eats away the buying power of your dollar. And the way to beat inflation is to make a significant long-term commitment to common stocks. Stock prices have gone up in seven of every ten years since 1926. When you pull money out of your stock funds in anticipation of a bear market, you're going against a very powerful long-term economic uptrend.

• Quit making things needlessly complicated. You don't need to read financial magazines, economic forecasts, technical analysis, or annual reports. Take our own organization here as an example. Sound Mind Investing offers a Just-the-Basics strategy, designed for simplicity and ease of implementation. Our Upgrading strategy is only slightly more advanced, and it has a wonderful track record over the years (see our Performance History). Just pick one of these strategies and follow the road map we give you. There's always more you can do, but you don't have to do more to get inflation-beating long-term results. When it comes to investing, finding trustworthy financial professionals will go a long way in preventing you from getting lost in unnecessary details that breed unnecessary stress.