A few years ago, I remember feeling intensely jealous as my friend bragged about the killing she'd made buying tech stocks.

What did she know that I didn't? How could I have missed such an obvious opportunity?

The next thing I knew, the market had tanked, and she was licking her wounds. While I'd been kicking myself for my supposed mistake, I'd actually dodged a bullet.

I learned an important lesson from that experience about investing with a long-term mindset. While many use the stock market as a casino, investors that make the most money over time know the secret to escaping this fear-and-greed cycle.

Make your investments, then forget about them.

Seems too good to be true, right? All those analysts with their fancy charts must have an advantage?

Not really. Let me explain.

Patience is your greatest asset

There's nothing wrong with making some dough off of a few stock market gambles, but issues arise when overconfidence follows.

Many people that make initial quick profits start to think of themselves as financial geniuses, and become ruined once the market turns negative.

The reality is, most people make less money picking stocks than they would if they had invested in broad-based index funds.

There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is the tendency to buy high, and sell low.

When the stock market is doing well, everyone is making money, and self-proclaimed gurus pop up all around. FOMO kicks in, and people that heard about how much money their friend made buy some stocks for themselves.

Once the market dips and the music stops, the mood at the party shifts. Fear dominates the headlines, and inevitably, talking heads on TV start overreacting about the death of the economy. Instead of holding the line, most people panic and sell at just the wrong time, when stock prices are low.

Unless you have an iron stomach, better to tune out the news and have faith that, in several decades, your investments will have grown significantly.

The noise in between is, well, just noise.

You have an edge that professionals don't

Rich people aren't very patient.

That's why Wall Street operates on a "what have you done for me lately" mindset. Even if a company had its best year ever, investors will be upset if its profits are weak this year.

But, you don't have to operate this way.

If you're saving for a long-term goal, like your child's education or your own retirement, you can focus on how the companies you're invested in will be doing in 10 years, not 10 months.

Most people don't know about this huge advantage they have while investing and give away their upper hand by constantly buying and selling stocks.

Maintain your edge against the pros by tuning out the noise, and focusing on the long run. Find a few index funds that you like, buy them periodically, and don't worry about what the stock market is doing.

You'll be glad you didn't!

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