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10 Mental Errors

The weakest link to any trading strategy is the trader that is suppose to be executing it. It is usually the mental and emotional errors of the trader that cause the 90% of unprofitable traders to lose money. Trading success is determined more by the mindset of the trader than their skills with math, economics, or macro knowledge.

  1. The ego takes over the trader and being right becomes the #1 priority. This causes the trader not to take losses becasue they don’t want to be proven wrong.
  2. Greed causes traders to trade too big because they want to make a huge amount of money in one trade.
  3. Fear causes a trader to exit to early with a very small profit because they are afraid it will disappear.
  4. Discouragement causes a trader to quit before they have given themselves or their systems enough time to win.
  5. Coat tailing is when a trader follows a guru’s trades instead of learning to trade correctly themselves.
  6. Style drift is when a trader changes their method instead of sticking to it and letting it play out when the right market environment emerges.
  7. Arrogance leads a trader to trade too big and take on too much risk, this usually happens after a big winning streak or outsized win. (more…)

The essence of chutzpah

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, sheer guts plus arrogance.  It’s Yiddish and, as Leo Rosten writes, “No other word and no other language, can do it justice.”  This example is better than 1,000 words. Read the story below the picture and then you will understand.

 

A little old lady sold pretzels on a street corner for 25 cents each. Every day a young man would leave his office building at lunch time, and as he passed the pretzel stand, he would leave her a quarter, but never take a pretzel. This went on for more than 3 years. The two of them never spoke. One day, as the young man passed the old lady’s stand and left his quarter as usual, the pretzel lady spoke to him.  Without blinking an eye she said:   “They’re thirty five cents now.”

Discipline

discipline-0Every day, every trade requires 100% discipline.

Discipline = Emotional Mastery, A Formula Of Confidence/Caution + Humility.

Confident but no caution = Arrogance. Cautious but not Confident = a lack of Conviction, Weakness.

A freedom from pride & Arrogance is Humility. A Weak Trader will never win in the long run.

A Super Trader = A Disciplined Trader. In Discipline, No Weakness Can Exist.

 

Jim Rogers: Here's The Most Important Thing On What Investors Should Do

I would say one lesson we all need to learn is that after you’ve had a great success, you really should be very worried. Let’s say you sell and say you’ve made 10 times on your money. You should be extremely worried. You should close the curtains, not read, look at the TV, or anything because that’s when you’re full of hubris, arrogance, confidence. You think, “God, this is something easy,” and you’re desperate to jump around to something new. You should do your very best to avoid making another play until you’ve calmed down a lot. Just wait. It’s a very dangerous time for any investor.

Likewise, if you take a huge loss and there’s a big panic and things are dumped on your head because you’re overextended or wrong for whatever reason, calm down, don’t say, “I’m never gonna invest in stocks again or commodities or whatever.” That’s the time you really should be willing to invest again if you can gather together some capital money. The investments can be terribly emotional. You have to figure out a way to control your emotions and deal with your emotions if you’re going to survive in these markets.

My advice is that, most of the time, most investors should do nothing. They should look out the window or go to the beach. You should wait until you see money lying in the corner and all you have to do is go over and pick it up. That’s how most investors should invest. The problem is we all think we need to jump around all the time and be jumping in and out and that’s not good. (more…)

EGO

There is no place for arrogance on the trading floor. The stock market has the uncanny ability to identify and humble arrogant traders. The best traders respect the market at all times. Traders are most susceptible to arrogance after an extended winning streak. It’s amazing how weeks of disciplined trading can be wiped out by one bad day. Arrogance is a virus in your trading, as it eats away at the edges of your discipline. Without proper discipline, the market will eat you for lunch.

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