Pushing Yourself To Work Harder

cornix · Jun 2, 2013

Quote from smallStops:

it is about focussing long enough on one method.

Yes. Specialization. Our brain needs to build proper connections between cells to really learn something to an automatic level. That's how the fact we can never "unlearn" to ride a bike works.

Same in trading. One big mistake newbies do is they search and search and change methods looking for a "good one", when in reality it's much more about taking almost anything and learning it.

J.Joseph · Jun 3, 2013

Quote from cornix:

Yes. Specialization. Our brain needs to build proper connections between cells to really learn something to an automatic level. That's how the fact we can never "unlearn" to ride a bike works.

You've got it backwads. The problem with trading is that, long before any of us started doing it, we DID build connections between brain cells to learn something on an automatic level. In order to be successful on an automatic level - as opposed to through self-discipline or automation or accountability to a rock-solid business plan - it is ESSENTIAL to "unlearn" to "ride the bike." Why do you think 99+ percent of independent traders can't do it? Faulty assumptions for starters. They think they're trying to build on a blank slate. Nope!

Humpy · Jun 3, 2013

Wasn't it in " Animal Farm " that poor old Dobbin worked harder and harder for less and less until he collapsed. The billionaires probably haven't noticed in their sanitized and gated condos ??
The right wing clots are trying it on here too.
They will emigrate to the US they cry, if you dare touch their gold plated pensions amd perks.

Be a little less mean and keep most of the plunder imho

MarkBrown · Jun 5, 2013

red queen theory - live it - understand it - conquer it

It's based on the observation to Alice by the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" that "in this place it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

The only way that a species involved in a competition can maintain its fitness relative to the others is by in turn improving its design.

In sum, in a competitive world, relative progress ("running") is necessary just for maintenance ("staying put").

murray t turtle · Jun 5, 2013

Quote from STC Capital:

As we all know, trading is hard work and usually requires years of pragmatic experience to do well...and even then, success still isn't guaranteed. With that being said, here's my story: Currently, I'm a swing trader. I hold futures contracts for a couple days to a week during any given trade. Every now and then, I scalp the market intraday as well. My system is highly technical, while at the same time, I pay attention to the fundamentals.

Now here's my dilemma: The only time I find myself analyzing the markets or the economy is when I feel like putting on a trade, which may be every other week. I'm not satisfied w/ that habit in myself. I'd like to be a person who eats, sleeps, breathes the markets. I'd like to be that kind of person who's up at 4 in the morning trading currencies and commodities. But I'm having a hard time pushing myself to be that person...as bad as I want to be. BTW, I am profitable but I know I can do a lot better. In a way, I actually feel lazy, especially in comparison to traders I've come across who ARE the type of traders I'm looking to be. I guess you can say I want that 16-20 hour a day work ethic.

One can easily say that you must love trading to be the type of trader I'm discussing. But my love for trading is undeniable. It's all I talk and think about...but its the DOING that I'm having a hard time with.

I'm a skilled guy in terms of psychology but my biggest hurdle in psychology is applying it to myself. I'd like to know if anyone has faced a similar dilemma as myself and if so, how'd you overcome it? Or, if anyone can offer any helpful advice, it'd be greatly appreciated.

=================
Good question S capital;
12 hours a day, 6 days a week is a good goal.I am not a mourning person, I don't even get up to hunt deer @ 4;00 am anymore LOL

20 hours a day sounds like[not wise],, a health wrecker +LIFE wrecker;
no thanks.

Wisdom is profitable to direct.

Money Trust · Jun 23, 2014

Aw man...looking back on this, I see how flawed my logic was when I typed this.
At the time, I was under the impression that in order to be a hard working trader, you had to be constantly in front of the screens looking for the next trade and constantly on the lookout for the latest news that could effect the markets. In truth, my trading system doesn't require me to spend much time analyzing the markets and for some reason, I felt that I wasn't doing enough...despite getting satisfactory results. Maybe I wanted it to be more difficult, I don't know.

doggyfx · Jul 1, 2014

Actually spending much time in work will not always yield to better results. Intellectectual work consumes good chunk of energy and mind tends to exhaust in 4-5 hours. Working after a peak compromises the overall quality of your work and can spoil everything rather than improve.

Humpy · Jul 1, 2014

If you are just a big muscelled boy then it may be the best position you can get shovelling for the boss. Will he respect you for a 20 hr day !! rrrrsssppphhs

Not a chance. He will have you out on yer ear if he spots a bigger sucker.

Work cleverly my friend. Dress right, look right, know what you are talking about, be the organiser and pull in the money !! Let the big idiot shovel dirt all day for peanuts. Sad but true !!

Dolemite · Jul 1, 2014

STC Capital said:
Aw man...looking back on this, I see how flawed my logic was when I typed this.
At the time, I was under the impression that in order to be a hard working trader, you had to be constantly in front of the screens looking for the next trade and constantly on the lookout for the latest news that could effect the markets. In truth, my trading system doesn't require me to spend much time analyzing the markets and for some reason, I felt that I wasn't doing enough...despite getting satisfactory results. Maybe I wanted it to be more difficult, I don't know.

I think once you have put in the effort to come up with a strategy you are comfortable with and have tested it, the actual trading part should be easy. If not, it might be a sign that either you lack confidence in your trades (more testing) or you are trading in a style that deep down you aren't really comfortable with. Trading is one of the few "jobs" where effort doesn't necessarily equal results. The times I worked the hardest at trading, I probably wasn't even earning the equivalent of minimum wage. Look at me now, ridiculously successful and good looking but yet I have time in the middle of the day to post on ET.

Money Trust · Jul 1, 2014

Dolemite said:
I think once you have put in the effort to come up with a strategy you are comfortable with and have tested it, the actual trading part should be easy. If not, it might be a sign that either you lack confidence in your trades (more testing) or you are trading in a style that deep down you aren't really comfortable with. Trading is one of the few "jobs" where effort doesn't necessarily equal results. The times I worked the hardest at trading, I probably wasn't even earning the equivalent of minimum wage. Look at me now, ridiculously successful and good looking but yet I have time in the middle of the day to post on ET.

That's the thing....I was and am still getting the results I wanted but I felt that it was coming too easily. I devised a system that is fitting to my personality and that met my criteria but after that, I began to feel like it wasn't enough. Sort of saying to myself, "it's working but it can't be this simple. It has to be luck because after all, the best traders are those that are always in the market." That was my thought process as the time, which I now know to be flawed. I'd forgotten a trading axiom which states that the best results are attained by learning how to sit on your hands and do nothing.