Originally posted by FasterPussycat
In what possible way could I evaluate the facts with more objectivity while in ANGER. Or a state of FEAR? Emotions COLOR objectivity rendering it less objective by DEFINITION! AND less objectivity equates with a loss of PERCEPTION! AND alas this leads to increased chaos and less resolution NOT more. AND, ipso fatso, increased fuzziness means that your trading models will be less precise and complete and ultimately your performance will suffer.
Faster:
I agree with your position in terms of what you just wrote. That's one of the things that makes a good debate so cool. Rabbit trails, doublebacks and new interpretations can lead to interesting places.
Emotion does not come to the aid of logic, this is true.
Objectivity is indeed the desired state of mind for the trader.
But a trader who can trust his well honed instincts is far better off than a trader who cannot. And oftentimes our base instincts alert us in the raw form of what, drum roll please....
Furthermore
1) Can we ever truly put emotion aside?
2) Can the subconscious mind be tricked?
3) Do properly harnessed emotions add value to trading/life?
4) Is desire not an emotion? Are we not inert without desire?
The trading state you describe in negative terms- having decisions colored by emotions run amok all willy nilly, is most definitely a bad state to be in. I agree wholeheartedly there. It is bad to let emotions influence you in an uncontrolled way. What you describe is like the fireman who does not have control of the firehose and so it is jerking him all over the place. The subtle point I am trying to make, and it's a very subtle one I am realizing, is that I think we should be wary of trying to manipulate our emotions as opposed to the superior method: utilizing them as good and useful signals and seeking the desired state of calm through deep knowledge integration.
ok, lemme try an analogy:
Two guys are sitting on a mountain top, taking in the splendor.
The first guy made it up after a grueling four day hike.
The second guy jumped in a helicopter, took a scenic tour, and made it up in an hour.
Which one of those guys has learned and grown?
Which one of them saw more gain from their experience?
Now we look at two traders in front of their screens on a hectic trading day. Both are equally serene, both are equally peaceful, neither of them are letting emotion color their decisions.
The first trader is peaceful and serene because he knows exactly what is going on. He has made no attempt to manipulate his emotions, his emotions are calm because like a good marine he knows the terrain and thus there is no reason for red flags to arise. His peace of mind comes from the fact that he knows every nook and cranny of his mind, his methodology and his market at that time. His emotions are cool and calm because he fully understands the situation and it took a lot of blood and sweat and tears to develop that sense of understanding. He also maintains a heightened state of readiness so that if something seems off his emotions can alert him to it, like the hidden tripwire around base camp.
The second trader is peaceful and serene because he has read a lot of stuff about inner calm and not being buffeted by the waves of the market. He does not understand nearly as much as the first trader does, because he took the helicopter to the top. His methodology is working pretty decently (so far) and so he sees no need to delve into the nuts and bolts nitty gritty. His emotions tend to flare up on him whenever he loses direct control of them, but overall the chants and the tapes are working pretty good at creating a sense of oneness and peace and inner harmony. When things go wrong, they tend to hit him a little harder because signals have to get through the barrier before his neural cortex gets a warning buzz- so he works harder at blissing out when this happens, and his improvements are a few steps behind if existent at all.
Both climbers are basically in the same place.
Both traders are basically in the same place.
But are they really? What happens when they decide they want to advance? The first trader has learned to embrace his emotions and thus has their power at his disposal when he wants to make use of them. The second trader has learned to stuff his emotions into a sack and thus cannot make use of them without fear of losing control when he opens that sack. The first trader is integrated and in tune; the second trader is conflicted and removed.
So here is what I am saying: seek serenity and objectivity, sure. But do so through real understanding, not artificial conditioning. Don't try to calm your emotions through mental exercises, calm them through true advances in understanding. Right perception leads to right action leads to right attitude flowing naturally. Want to be more comfortable with the markets? Learn the markets. Want to more comfortable with yourself? Learn yourself. No shams, no fuzz, no ohms. When it comes down to it, its the gloppy goop neither here nor there that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Also: I don't know if Einstein got mad, but I bet he got tired. I bet he got sick of thinking and thinking and thinking and sometimes wanted to hang it up. I'm sure he had his share of critics throwing mud at him too, 'look at that stupid dreamer, he's just a swiss patent clerk who can't even match his socks.' He was driven by his curiosity no doubt, but driven- i.e. desire- was key. It takes balls to take on the world, to challenge the establishment. It takes fire in your gut to step up to the plate like that. Or look at Thomas Edison, who tried and failed ten thousand times to get the light bulb right. Or Abraham Lincoln, the classic case of failure failure failure turned success. If those guys had turned off their emotions, wouldn't they have turned off their desire as well?
This is why I'm saying that when all the pieces are in place, emotions become your friend and not your enemy. My trading days are by and large peaceful not because I foist an artificial peace on myself, but because I've worked hard to understand the situation and when things are cool and rolling smooth, I'm cool and rolling smooth. When things are going wrong or if I'm screwing up, I get a warning light on the dashboard that tells me to retrench and regroup. As it should be. And when I need to reach down deep and get some rocket fuel, I can do so without having to snap out of a complacency haze first. I can let my true self shine through first, last and all the time.
Just keep it real mcsqueal
This will be my last post here on it...