Trading and Personality
Is not a stretch to believe. Most traders like excitement, like
life edgier than most. Like their share of thrills, have their
appetites and needs to excel. This is one of the personality
that would be attracted to trading. But this and this but is
big, if you are using trading to satisfy these parts of your
personality you are fighting a losing battle.
Successful traders actually tend to be attracted to the duller
parts of trading. The mechanical system designers that easily do
'this' if 'that' happens. They are not thrilled with their
winnings nor do they despair over their losses. Every trade,
every situation calls for certain actions, either liquidation,
stop placements, or just waiting, but it is all pre-ordained.
Sure there are chart readers, like yours truly, but even then
the charts dictate the action needed. While we do not use
mathematical equations to impart are entries and exits, we do
use charts. We do sit on positions when we would rather not, we
do exit when we would rather not, but it is all pre-ordained as
well. In short, our observations, our trained eye is our system.
Contrast that with the emotional trader, who goes from ecstasy
to despair, in a single week, or day, or even hour. One minute
he thinks he has figured out the trading game, with the holy
grail of systems, and the next he realizes that all his friends
were right and trading is a waste of time, a game you cannot
win, not any different than casino gambling,. He was attracted
by the appeal of easy money, and was sure he would be the one
who would get it.
Well even the most successful traders will tell you, trading is
NOT easy money. 50% annual returns may sound too good to be
true, but it is not without its share of the full range of human
experience. For even the most seasoned, mechanical traders will
also tell you, that deep down, they experience the same emotions
as the novice. The trick is and always has been not to allow
your emotions to effect your trades.
So you can be wildly emotional on the inside. But you had better
stick to your guns on the outside. Most weeks, most days, most
hours, you are not going to be very happy about your open
positions. Most trades will go against you at least one time
during their open status. And probably more than once, the
unpredictable is always going to happen. The illogical will
always have its moment, and yes, you are going to be wrong.
The only smart thing to do about all of this is to learn from
it. In fact, if you are not still learning new things from your
trading, you have no reason to still be in it. The markets like
humans, like the universe evolve. Evolution is the only thing
you can bank on, and if you think you do not need to partake in
it. Then you will be consumed by it.
To be successful at trading you do not need to always be one
step ahead of the evolution of the markets. But you need to be
in time with it, to accept its existence.