I once walked into a barbershop and sat in the chair and the barber looked at me and said I didn't need a haircut and sent me on my way.
Kidding. Like that would ever happen.
Trading psychology resources
- Thread starter orbit23
- Start date
I once walked into a barbershop and sat in the chair and the barber looked at me and said I didn't need a haircut and sent me on my way.
Kidding. Like that would ever happen.
Andrea Wylan
Sponsor
Sure. It isn't for everyone. I just worked with someone for two years who ended up determining that trading wasn't for him--at least not to make a living. That is a good decision to get to if that is the truth for you.
What he also got was a huge healing of a very hard past (his childhood) and “permission” for himself to finally do what he really loves to do.
At the start of our work together I had encouraged him to do what he really loved and not to trade. It wasn’t his passion. I always Advocate for people trying to do their passion for a living. But, he thought he needed to trade to "make money."
So, through our work, he got clarity, freedom from having to trade for money, and freedom to do what he loves and make a living doing that. To me this is a successful outcome.
It may Seem like a long time to get To this point of clarity, but sometimes people have a lot of trauma in the past and it takes some work to clear it. It’s great work, it changes your life and makes everything easier. It just takes effort and discomfort and some time!
The more we heal and get clear, the more we can see and honor what is really ours to do. Sometimes it is trading, and sometimes it really just isn’t.
I have an aquaintance whom I've known for 30 years, he began trading from watching me.
Totally unsuited, never spends money on equipment, trades from a tablet only, has no computer or mobile phone, if he needs to use a computer he uses the one at the library, seriously lacking in intelligence, clueless about computers or software.
Talks constantly, never shuts up, lacks focus, he'll ask a question as as I'm explaining will immediately change the subject.
In my opinion traders need to be studious and a bit introverted, there's a lot to think about, the landscape constantly changes, like an eagle hovering in the air ready to dive, a trader needs to be fully aware of minute and lots of detail, and know how to sit still, not have a fidgity mind.
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Most people are ill-equipped to learn regardless of the stuff they buy. They focus on the money aspect primarily which screws up learning correctly. I learned in this thread that there is another group of failures I didn't know about who views trading as some kind of cathartic release from childhood trauma. If so, trading the micros could be cheaper than therapy.
For me to trade successfully i need to not think at all, but simply observe. I have to dumb-down and follow the simple, stupid process. Not worry about what could go wrong and what could happen, not trying to predict or call shit. Stay open minded, without bias, flexible... and when the god damn stupid setup appears, press the button.
In an essence, that's it. It's really really easy. A monkey could do it.
If you are focused on the process and executing the strategy, you win. It's not hard to focus for a period of time, but it's much harder to maintain focus.
It can be just that one loss, that ruins your mindset. Or even on the opposite side, it might be a string of winners that make you think, damn am i good at this.
Just like that, you derail. Away from the process. You worry about losses, you start thinking about winning, you try to make it all back or you try to win a home-run. And baaam you are guaranteed to make mistakes and get butchered.
It's just so easy to get swayed by emotions. Whether it is about the win or loss, or just seeing or reading about something on the news, twitter, getting tip from a friend. Fear, greed, lust, you name it... Your mammal instincts get activated and you are fucked.
So just the trading strategy in itself is not sufficient and what i think you need is:
Actualy i remember reading about something alike from Steenbarger and he covered both the trading aspect and the psychological aspect, so i better just link it
The trading part: https://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2019/04/four-essential-ingredients-of-trading.html
Mindset: https://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2017/04/three-best-practices-of-currently.html
In an essence, that's it. It's really really easy. A monkey could do it.
If you are focused on the process and executing the strategy, you win. It's not hard to focus for a period of time, but it's much harder to maintain focus.
It can be just that one loss, that ruins your mindset. Or even on the opposite side, it might be a string of winners that make you think, damn am i good at this.
Just like that, you derail. Away from the process. You worry about losses, you start thinking about winning, you try to make it all back or you try to win a home-run. And baaam you are guaranteed to make mistakes and get butchered.
It's just so easy to get swayed by emotions. Whether it is about the win or loss, or just seeing or reading about something on the news, twitter, getting tip from a friend. Fear, greed, lust, you name it... Your mammal instincts get activated and you are fucked.
So just the trading strategy in itself is not sufficient and what i think you need is:
- Profitable trading strategy
- A process to manage yourself/your psychology and stay the course
- Discipline to execute
Actualy i remember reading about something alike from Steenbarger and he covered both the trading aspect and the psychological aspect, so i better just link it
The trading part: https://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2019/04/four-essential-ingredients-of-trading.html
Mindset: https://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2017/04/three-best-practices-of-currently.html
Andrea Wylan
Sponsor
I have to agree!
I have to agree!
Andrea,
Out of curiosity but maybe too personal...
Have you seen more interest in your services since that start of the Pandemic ???
I've talked to others with your professional background and they stated the Pandemic has increased the anxiety / stress / confidence in the trade performance when such wasn't there prior to the Pandemic or in control.
My point with this, it would then imply that outside issues not related to trading do in fact impact the trade performance results considering nothing has changed with the trade strategy.
This would then imply the importance of trader psychology.
wrbtrader
Andrea Wylan
Sponsor
Yes, that is always my point. Your trading success is all about your mental health. The trading part is easy. The emotions are challenging. I can tell you that many of my conversations with people now are about coping through this time.
I thought about what @savoir said and he is actually on-point. When i first read what he said i was already biased in a sense yeahh we all know psychology is important blah blah.
Because like the truth is that trading can bring out the worst of you and psychologically fucks you up real real good. I've been fucked and sent into misery many times. When i hear the "many times" i always think of that scene from That' 70s show when a kid asks "Dad, am i unlucky? Bad things always seem to happen to me." And the father answers: "Bad things don't happen to you because you are unlucky, but because you are a dumb-ass".
Savoir says that many think they are unprofitable because of the psychology, when in reality they lack a profitable trading system/strategy/process, which is hard to make, takes a long time to learn and is hard to develop.
The core to profitable trading is a well-developed process/strategy that you fully trust in. Then once you have that, the psychological part is to focus on the process and execute. You have to be mindful, in the present moment, fully focused on executing the process. If you are focused on the now, you can't be thinking of past mistakes and regrets, not thinking about the future profits, but fully immersed into what you can do now and take control of the things that you can control(execution of the strategy).
By focusing on the process is how you take yourself, your ego, emotions,.... out of the equation.
BUT you do need a profitable strategy that you fully trust. If you don't have one, it might seem like you are in a loop where bad things continue to happen to you and then it would be only normal to get emotional, angry, frustrated, miserable,...
Because like the truth is that trading can bring out the worst of you and psychologically fucks you up real real good. I've been fucked and sent into misery many times. When i hear the "many times" i always think of that scene from That' 70s show when a kid asks "Dad, am i unlucky? Bad things always seem to happen to me." And the father answers: "Bad things don't happen to you because you are unlucky, but because you are a dumb-ass".
Savoir says that many think they are unprofitable because of the psychology, when in reality they lack a profitable trading system/strategy/process, which is hard to make, takes a long time to learn and is hard to develop.
The core to profitable trading is a well-developed process/strategy that you fully trust in. Then once you have that, the psychological part is to focus on the process and execute. You have to be mindful, in the present moment, fully focused on executing the process. If you are focused on the now, you can't be thinking of past mistakes and regrets, not thinking about the future profits, but fully immersed into what you can do now and take control of the things that you can control(execution of the strategy).
By focusing on the process is how you take yourself, your ego, emotions,.... out of the equation.
BUT you do need a profitable strategy that you fully trust. If you don't have one, it might seem like you are in a loop where bad things continue to happen to you and then it would be only normal to get emotional, angry, frustrated, miserable,...