Discipline has always been one of my biggest challenges all my life. I'd start something then let it sit 95% done. At one time I was 4 years behind in filing my income tax returns. Only after I got a bill from the IRS for 45k did I get going and get the returns in. I never knew why my discipline was lacking...it just was.
Last year, one of my kids was diagnosed with ADHD. My wife got books on it and as part of the treatment process, both of us had to do a questionnaire. It turns out that I have ADD. I never knew it, but it helps explain some things for me.
To overcome my discipline problems, I've been programming my life to achieve the results I desire. For instance, a couple of months ago I was about 30 pounds overweight and knew I needed to workout to improve my health. I knew if I just got a gym membership I wouldn't go, so I had to create a system to get me to workout. I decided to get a membership and buy the personal trainer services to meet me at the gym at 5:30 am Mon.-Sat. If I didn't show, I'd get a phone call that would wake my wife. That was enough motivation to get me to the gym everyday. I didn't need the trainer, but I did need to be accountable to keep my lazy side in check. I've nearly eliminated the 30 extra pounds, so my immediate goal is just about achieved.
In trading I do things in a structured way. I follow the same process everyday. One problem I had years ago was that as I was stalking a trade, I'd have other things I needed to get done pop into my head and distract me. Sometimes I'd miss the entry into a great trade as I tried to quickly take care of the item. In 1995 I met one of the wizards from the Schwager books and told him about this problem. He told me he used to have it and to get rid of it, he took out a sheet of paper before the trading day and listed all the things that he needed to do. If something new came up he'd put it on the list. When the market was dead he'd work off the list. When he stalked a trade he could devote 100% of his attention to the trade. I began doing it and it eliminated the thoughts jumping into my head just before a trade. Knowing I had a list was enough.
I few years ago I had a problem of getting into trades too early and losing some money for no good reason. To eliminate this habit I made up envelopes with the address of a charity and a printed letter advising the charity of my donation. I kept the pile next to my screens. At the end of each trading day I'd do a postmortem on each trade. If I decided I entered a trade too early, I'd pull out my checkbook and write a check to the charity and mail it. After about two weeks this problem stopped. I didn't like writing checks so I used it to improve my discipline.
I've found that programming my life in this way has improved my discipline greatly. Anytime I want to conciously achieve a goal, I figure out how I can setup a process so it would be hard to fail. Anyone else have a suggestion they'd like to share?
Last year, one of my kids was diagnosed with ADHD. My wife got books on it and as part of the treatment process, both of us had to do a questionnaire. It turns out that I have ADD. I never knew it, but it helps explain some things for me.
To overcome my discipline problems, I've been programming my life to achieve the results I desire. For instance, a couple of months ago I was about 30 pounds overweight and knew I needed to workout to improve my health. I knew if I just got a gym membership I wouldn't go, so I had to create a system to get me to workout. I decided to get a membership and buy the personal trainer services to meet me at the gym at 5:30 am Mon.-Sat. If I didn't show, I'd get a phone call that would wake my wife. That was enough motivation to get me to the gym everyday. I didn't need the trainer, but I did need to be accountable to keep my lazy side in check. I've nearly eliminated the 30 extra pounds, so my immediate goal is just about achieved.
In trading I do things in a structured way. I follow the same process everyday. One problem I had years ago was that as I was stalking a trade, I'd have other things I needed to get done pop into my head and distract me. Sometimes I'd miss the entry into a great trade as I tried to quickly take care of the item. In 1995 I met one of the wizards from the Schwager books and told him about this problem. He told me he used to have it and to get rid of it, he took out a sheet of paper before the trading day and listed all the things that he needed to do. If something new came up he'd put it on the list. When the market was dead he'd work off the list. When he stalked a trade he could devote 100% of his attention to the trade. I began doing it and it eliminated the thoughts jumping into my head just before a trade. Knowing I had a list was enough.
I few years ago I had a problem of getting into trades too early and losing some money for no good reason. To eliminate this habit I made up envelopes with the address of a charity and a printed letter advising the charity of my donation. I kept the pile next to my screens. At the end of each trading day I'd do a postmortem on each trade. If I decided I entered a trade too early, I'd pull out my checkbook and write a check to the charity and mail it. After about two weeks this problem stopped. I didn't like writing checks so I used it to improve my discipline.
I've found that programming my life in this way has improved my discipline greatly. Anytime I want to conciously achieve a goal, I figure out how I can setup a process so it would be hard to fail. Anyone else have a suggestion they'd like to share?
