Archives of “doing the right thing” tag

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Self Improvement

  
  Education
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self-improvementIf you are having trouble achieving your trading goals, take time out to examine the real causes of your problems. Working towards improvement will take a dedicated approach on your part. Identification of the problems are the first step. Attacking the problems one at a time is the first part of the solution. Doing the right thing at the right time based on the information you have should be your goal. Sit down and have an in depth talk with yourself and ask yourself some hard questions. For example: – do I have the emotional makeup necessary for this business? – do I have the financial reserves so that I am not relying on trading to pay the bills while I learn? – do I really enjoy doing this? Coming up with honest answers will be the only way to ultimately overcome issues that keep getting in your way. If you keep doing the same things, you will keep getting the same results, so you’ll need to change. Plain and simple. Best not to delay in sorting things out.

Waiting for the right moment to enter and exit definitely comes with experience. Correct order execution, taking profits when they are offered and cutting losers are also vital to your success.

My mind is not bogged down by indicators, rumours, conjecture or analyst’ reports. It is much easier for me then to concentrate on what really matters – recognizing what the charts are telling me and acting on this information.
Concentrate on the problems you might have. Hesitation, taking big losers, selling winners to soon, screwing up order entry, racing heart and sweaty palms. (more…)

3 Types of Confidence

  
  Education
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I see three types of confidence among traders:

First, is what I call ‘false confidence’ That’s the person who talks big and poses like a big shot. This type of person often takes big risks in an effort to either impress others or to assuage their own discomfort, and the results can be terrible.

Next, there is temporary confidence, which is conditional on recent performance. This is the person whose self-esteem is tied to their account equity or P&L. When on a good run, they feel confident and take larger risks (often the prelude to giving it all back). And when performance is lousy they start grasping at anything, maybe exiting winners prematurely or taking on excessive risk to get their money back.

Finally, we have true confidence. This is confidence that does not depend on recent results. It is based on a deep sense of inner trust. This is the person who has a history of doing the right thing, regardless of the outcome. Doing the right thing in the sense that they act in their own best interest and trust and understand that doing such over time has a positive impact on results. The trust runs deep enough to provide resilience in the face of disappointment. This is true self-confidence, the kind you want in trading and in life.

Almost everyone says that discipline is a requirement to succeed in trading. But most people never talk about what really underlies that type of discipline. The answer……true self-confidence.

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