Handling the psychological part of being a full-time trader/investor

[Overnight]

Thank you very much for all the replies. There are so many good ones that I cannot pay respect by replying to all of them one by one.

A few things about myself...I have more than 10 years of trading/investing experience.

Irrelevant. Nobody cares, and you should not care either what you were in the past. This is TODAY.

In the past 2 years, it got to the point that the time I need to spend on the financial markets has grown so much that I need to make a choice between my full-time job as an engineer or part-time job as speculator.

Why not just be a "full-time speculator"?

What keeps me back is the social pressure and the self-disrespect that I feel as an investor. Of course, there is always a risk that I will earn far less or even go into the red as an investor.

You are starting a new business. Your very own trading business. Treat it as a business, and understand that most small businesses lose money in their first year or two of operation. How many business owners out there feel "self-disrespect" for losing money in their start-up timeframe, and give up because of it? Only the failed ones, because they gave up.

On the work aspect, I have no doubt I will enjoy the work as a speculator although I enjoy engineering work too.

Look on the bright side...If you fail as a full-time speculator, you have your engineering background to fall back upon. So you do have a sort-of safety net.

...I believe it is not how much money a person has that commands respect but the way he earns his money that determines whether he deserves respect.

Narcissism has no place in trading, or investing, or anywhere. Drop this shit now, or you will fail.

An entrepreneur or engineer who creates products/services that improves the standard of living of others deserves respect.

Again...Narcissism has no place in trading, or investing, or anywhere. Drop this shit now, or you will fail. Humble yourself fast, or be humbled.

A speculator who gets rich from the follies of others in the market deserves less respect because he takes advantage of the stupid but does not create much useful stuff in the process. Nevertheless, it is still an honest living.

Now you're just in non-sequitur land and seem to be looking for validation of the fragile and barely-existent self-esteem umbrella you are trying to hide under.

Blah blah, skipping to the end here...

When I express these reservations to others, the most common reply was "You care too much about what people think about you." This is a weakness that cannot be avoided, at least by me. Humans are social creatures. It is impossible to totally ignore what others think unless you are a machine.

BECOME THAT MACHINE, or you will fail. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it, and it seems you have found your greatest challenge to becoming a great trader, in the bolded underlined italicized bit. Think less about others, and more about yourself. Stop whining on about what you think others may think of you. Think instead about how YOU think of you. Get a backbone and do not be afraid to stand alone, and FUCK what anyone else thinks, because nobody else is going to care about you more than YOU!

 

[KDASFTG]

Greetings Again T,

You Said: When I express these reservations to others, the most common reply was "You care too much about what people think about you." This is a weakness that cannot be avoided, at least by me. Humans are social creatures.

Response: If you honestly believe that this is a weakness that cannot be overcome by you, then your course of action is simple. Keep letting other people in your life dictate how you feel about yourself, and all that you do. As long as your life is controlled by "other things" and "other people" outside of yourself, you will never be in control of how you feel about yourself. Now,....tell me,....how does that concept feel?

You Said: It is impossible to totally ignore what others think unless you are a machine.

Response: Not really,...you just have to believe at your core that, what you want for you and yours, is more important than what the world believes is right for you and yours. I believe you really need to sit down and do some "Soul Searching" and ask yourself this question:

"Why does what other people think about me, matter more than what I think about myself,....and how did this happen?"

You may also do well to read the words below, for they are well worth thinking about for at least a moment.

“Every man who is truly his own man must learn to be alone in his thinking, in the midst of other men, and if need be, against the thinking of other men.”

“My kind of Freedom, I enjoy my work because I chose it as a conscious act of my own free will. I’m secure in the knowledge that the only timetables, expectations, and deadlines that must be met are of my own doing. And best of all, no one can ever take this type freedom from me, because it resides within me.“

The Trader
The symbol of all relationships among such men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is the Trader. We, who live by our own values, not by loot, are Traders, both in manner and spirit. A Trader is a man who earns what he gets, and does not give or take the undeserved. A Trader does not ask to be paid for his failures; just as he does not ask to be loved for his flaws. A Trader does not squander his body as fodder for the sake of others, or his soul as alms. Just as he does not give his work except in trade for material values, so he does not give the values of his spirit-his love, his friendship, his esteem-except in payment and in trade for human virtue, in payment for his own selfish pleasure, which he receives from men he can respect. The parasites who have, throughout the ages, reviled the Trader and held him in contempt, while honoring the beggars and the looters, have known the secret motive of their sneers: a Trader is the entity they dread, a man of justice.
A. Rand

KDASFTG

 

[fordewind]

When i had jobs i could never get along with others.There was a big big gap between us.The folks with the rgular jobs are strangers to me.The only reason i`m still trading.

 

[Turveyd]

I managed full time for about 6months a long time ago.

1.society who cares society all about the money.

Main issue I found was....

No 1 will take it seriously
They'll class you as unemployed then they'll ring you up, drop in, expect you to do stuff for them, totally ruin your concentration.

My advice, don't try to explain to anyone, lie to them, rent an office, go to work at normal ish times, make it look like your at a job therefore not available to walk there dogs, wait at theres for the gas man, Bla Bla Bla Bla!

Switch phone off not allowed at work, then the peace to focus on the job at hand.

 

[Chuck Krug]

It is status that you worry about.
You can't be frugal and want to be 'high' status at the same time, it doesn't work that way.
As a compromise: buy a secondhand gold/steel rolex daytona (+-10k) and a low mileage 2006-2007 porsche 911 pdk convertible for +-35k
If you ever sell the watch or the car you won't lose a lot of money on them (You'll break even)

Hey presto, now you have some affordable status symbols

 

[Steve Alexander]

I believe quitting one's job and becoming a full-time trader has been discussed a number of times on this forum. It is a dream for many. I do not want to talk about the financial aspects as it is easy to determine whether a person can pass the financial test of becoming a full-time investor. Just do the numbers based on past years of expense and investment gains, then add a conservative margin of safety. It is an objective exercise.

I am torn about the non-financial and social aspects of becoming a full-time investor. I would like the sensible folks here to share their opinions openly and harshly, if you need to. Just speak your mind. I will speak my mind as well.

Here are my reservations;

- How would society view someone who is still reasonably young (early 40s) and quits his job to become a full-time investor? I do not view investing highly as a socially useful activity. Little useful stuff is created from the buying and selling of securities in the secondary market. I admit this sounds hypocritical given that I am harbouring thoughts of becoming a full-time investor.

- Investing is a lonely activity. I operate alone. When I have a job, I still have a group of friends and colleagues to talk to. After I plunge into full-time investing, the loneliness is going to be acute.

- Am I setting a good example to my kids? "Dad is always staying at home. He is always telling me to work hard and yet he just quits his job to do his own thing. His so-called passion. Why can't I quit school to do my own thing and play computer whole day?" Will my children work less hard in life as a result? Will my children look down on me?

- How do you answer relatives who will be surprised at a person who quits your job and staying home all day picking stocks? I don't feel comfortable revealing my financial condition. Neither do I want them to think I am not able to find a proper job and resorting to investing as a final resort. "Why doesn't this guy find a proper job and contribute to society instead of staying at home all day clicking buy and sell?" Don't want people to think I am a loser. Would it be a good idea to start a shell company and tell them I work for this company? Christmas is going to be dreadful.

Get over yourself. You sound like a snowflake who voted for Hillary. Cowboy up and trade, or else forget it. No good will come of feeding the concerns in your post. Good luck.

 

[southall]

Get over yourself. You sound like a snowflake who voted for Hillary. Cowboy up and trade, or else forget it. No good will come of feeding the concerns in your post. Good luck.

Agree, Tmhy needs to 'Harden the fuck up!'

 

[ET2017]

As long as we can milk money out of market consistently so we can provide foods on the table for our family, who cares about what other think