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Patience

  
  Education
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No matter which mask you wore in May, June brings with it new opportunities and new perils. It is difficult sometimes to separate ourselves from the action, always afraid of missing the next great opportunity. But trust me when I say that learning patience is one of the greatest skills a trader can develop. Instead of coming into each trading day with an “I gotta make money” mentality, it would behoove traders to develop a more market-neutral attitude and focus on the process instead of the outcome. To that end, let me share some ideas that have helped me over the years to control the impulsivity that many traders find hard to control.

Graph Your Past to Future Fortune

  
Analysis, Education

Whatever your thing – speculation, athletics, or business – sit for ten minutes and graph your past to a better future. The horizontal axis is time and the vertical skill. The line assumedly rises.

Now to see where it is going, how fast, and why. You will note jumps in the line over time, and try to attribute them to a cause such as a new trick, data, or advisor. Put dots on the line and write tiny reasons for the jumps.

Now you have a graph of where you have been. Look off the invisible future end and imagine what old tricks to repeat and new lessons to add to reach future gains.

There you go on your way to profit in finance, sports, or anything that follows a performance due to ability streak.

Trading and Tennis

  
  Education
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The accompanying comments  were inspired from Brad Gilbert‘s book,  Winning  Ugly, which was written about tennis. There are many parallels between tennis and trading, both being individual performance disciplines. 

And on that last note, remember that ATTITUDE is everything. How you frame out an individual experience or event will affect your success in the long run. Do you see a trading loss or bad drawdown period as a major setback, or do you see it as a learning experience from which you can figure out how to be on the RIGHT 

The accompanying comments (see sidebar) were inspired from Brad Gilbert‘s book,  Winning  Ugly, which was written about tennis. There are many parallels between tennis and trading, both being individual performance disciplines.

 

 

And on that last note, remember that ATTITUDE is everything. How you frame out an individual experience or event will affect your success in the long run. Do you see a trading loss or bad drawdown period as a major setback, or do you see it as a learning experience from which you can figure out how to be on the RIGHT

●     Desire. The most successful players are the ones who have a burning desire to win.

●     Defy Failure! Don’t check out of the game. Never give up!

●     Consistency. Improve your consistency. Stay active, stay involved, and keep your feet moving.

●     Patience. Be patient. Do not force a trade that isn’t there. Wait for the play to set up.

●     Management. When you get a good trade, go for it.

Manage it. Trail a stop. Don’t be too eager to get out.

●     Flexibility. Be flexible – if what you are doing isn’t working, change what you are doing!

●     Confidence. When down, get a little rhythm and confidence going. Don’t worry about being too ambitious.

●     Concentration. Stay with your game. Don’t let outside distractions bother you. They take energy and break your concentration.

●     Know Yourself. Match your particular strengths to the type of market conditions.

●     Clean Up Your Act. Hate making stupid mistakes and unforced errors. This includes not getting out of a bad trade when you know you are wrong.

●     Stay Positive. Many players will play their best game when they are coming from behind.

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