Plenty of mistakes less and less over time but no regrets. I don't understand why one would?
Oh ok I do have one, that I didn't get into trading sooner than I did in 1996.
It’s a Miserable Life – Trading and Depression
- Thread starter Bill Pro
- Start date
Oh ok I do have one, that I didn't get into trading sooner than I did in 1996.
I asked the question because I did the opposite of your approach. I went from being a long term investor to a trader or speculator.
I took early retirement in 2000 and watched my nest-egg get decimated in the years that followed. Granted the market did recover and I held through the downturn but I wasn't something that I wanted to repeat. I changed my priority to one of capital preservation.
I still want to be in the market to achieve the returns I'm looking for, but I don't have to hold thru the ups and downs.
My strategy has changed from fundamental where the data suggest what a stock should do, to technical where the data tells me what the stock is doing. The strategy has kept me out of the 2008, 2020 and this most recent downturn.
I at one time owned a stock I would think is similar in nature to TSLA. A growing tech company with a great product, first to the market, a darling of the business world. Research in Motion. The blackberry was the leading cell phone used by business.
Two things brought about it's downfall. A new product that no one took seriously (the i-Phone) and management got distracted.
Now right now there is no new product that I'm aware of that might unseat TSLA but you can be sure everyone is working on one. As far as management being distracted, that's a given.
I got out of Research in Motion during the 2008 downturn. Strictly technical reasons. But it's an example of a company that had a great following that didn't live up to the hype.
I now ask myself what is the downside to holding a stock that is in a down trend. If the answer is it could continue to go down and stay down, then there is no reason to hold it.
You have to remember that my trading life started in 2020, at a time you call a downturn but to most was a lifetime bull market. Very unique circumstances led me to anticipate the crash and, just as important, to jump back all in TSLA at the end of March, at the bottom, that I traded furiously until Q1 '21 when I realized that the market was behaving differently from what I only knew, and paused to ponder.
I think there ought to be a risk reward for trading instead of investing. I know that trading TSLA through 2020 led to higher returns than if I had simply invested. I asked myself if the associated stress was worth it but dismissed it as a woulda coulda shoulda question. Hindsight is 100% and I don't know what my stress would have been passively checking in on TSLA performance.
Anyway, 2021 was a year of learning real basics as in, what is trading and how does it fit with my personality, my lifestyle, my capabilities and which type suits me best. I've been learning, experimenting, making mistakes, trying again, making more mistakes, etc. and giving back some of my previous year's gains. I cashed out at the right time, then mistimed my re-entry earlier this year and took the dive like so many until I sold all my losers, and regrouped behind TSLA, because I'm convinced it's a 600+ stock that will weather the storm better than most.
I think it's important for other newbies like me to consider a decision over a time span, rather than an immediate consequence. I'll use an example for clarity. I had been trading MSTR for about 18 months, had gotten familiar with its trading pattern, its volatility, and was doing relatively well until BTC crashed. I was left hanging high but believed BTC would rally. Months later I finally took the loss and bought back low, ready for the rebound. Instead, the price dropped again so I finally gave up and sold. And I've been holding this negative feeling for the last several weeks for losing my edge on a stock I had been successful with for many months.... until last night seeing MSTR down over 20%. And all that ridiculous pent-up frustration instantly turned into relief. It's a reminder to keep emotions out of trading decisions.
I don't want to put words in your mouth but it seems you learned the lesson that trading and investing, for the most part, are one and the same. Main difference being time horizon.
Buy (or Sell short) at one price, if there are the right reasons to, and sell (or cover) at another price, again if there are reasons to.
Just because it is "a good company" and "wow look at how cheap it is" are not, alone, good reasons.
IMO current RIMM example is META. Nothing wrong with buying a beaten down stock if management changes their thinking or if better yet company changes its management. Maybe a particular industry is going through its usual boom/bust cycle, such as oil, autos, retail, etc and now have attractive valuations. Still have to do due diligence. Me, I'd just look at the charts. Either work.
%%Plenty of mistakes less and less over time but no regrets. I don't understand why one would?
Oh ok I do have one, that I didn't get into trading sooner than I did in 1996.
YOU must not really be bothered by that\
commissions were so high then.
I did in the past HATE it when people bought trash[price point of view] like FB which changed the name to META to protect the guilty.
But that seldom bother me anymore ; i may do something with PSQ or SQQQ.
I dont kick myself to Sunday over it\ but i regret the years of harsh words which tended to depress\make miserable, people who are sensitive, especially females
Love that you took time to write this post! Grateful to be part of this forum. Thanks guys, keep the information coming. I’d also like to add that if traders find a balance between trading and their personal lives, they wouldn’t need to suffer depression.
If any trader wants to have less stress, (s)he should trade systematically. That helps a lot. When the rules are clear to enter and exit, there is only some automation work to complete trading. Then set back and watch it regularly (or not). Discretionary trading is much more painful. My two cents.
Bill, Bill, Bill.
Do you really have to look that hard to reduce stress?
Consider this a Drug that is administered to millions to reduce stress is no more effective than professional meditating. 2 hrs a day. Done the right way.
I find it easier to just get stoned.
Have you tried waking up smoking a joint with your coffee and then trading? ~stoney
Do you really have to look that hard to reduce stress?
Consider this a Drug that is administered to millions to reduce stress is no more effective than professional meditating. 2 hrs a day. Done the right way.
I find it easier to just get stoned.
Have you tried waking up smoking a joint with your coffee and then trading? ~stoney
My unsuccessful trades in trading ruin my mental health every time. I have already promised myself many times that I would not do it anymore. Because I'm not sure I like what I do anymore. I spend a lot of effort analyzing different markets and trying to earn money and develop myself in this field. But it seems to me that this is not for me. I've started to take medications that can reduce my anxiety level and prevent depression, which I'm afraid of falling into. Kratom Library Red Bali capsules help me with this. How do you deal with the thought of quitting and doing something else?
"Stress only happens when you resist life's events. If you're neither pushing life away, nor pulling it towards you, then you are not creating resistance. You are simply present" - The untethered soul.
Just let it go for now. Take a deep breathe, put trading on hold and work on YOU...good luck.