The most difficult thing for traders to do is to sit there and wait. Why? Because, we live in a world that is on a total dopamine, hypomanic binge. This is never more clearly manifest than by those who absolutely have to be in the markets at all times, desperately need to be trading and simply cannot wait. They are human do-ings, rather than human be-ings.
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There is a wonderful advantage to waiting for the right entry and exit points. This allows you to be in a market- neutral mindset, and frees you from looking frantically for bearish or bullish views to justify your biases. Granted, you are not making money, but you are also (and much more importantly) not losing it. You are preserving capital. You can take time to reflect study, hone and refine your trading plan, adopt some healthy exercise and dietary habits, and become a stronger and more centered person. Simply waiting without stress for the right opportunity allows you to become a more rational and impartial observer.
Patience frees you from active involvement in the chaotic, and often reckless, behavior of others in the markets, and it puts you and your trading plan into a clearer perspective. It allows you to see yourself as a human be-ing, rather than a human do-ing.
When you first started trading, what did you hear constantly? Preserve your capital. You heard it, but maybe you did not listen, or did not understand. If you have no financial capital to use, you are out of the game. If you are chasing or getting in just to get in and are getting whipsawed daily; and you are losing, drip by drip, or in larger chunks, you are out of the game. If you are cutting your winners too quickly and letting your losers ride, you are out of the game.
If you wait, take time, assess the situation and then pounce like a jaguar at the right opportunity, your chances for trader longevity increase significantly. You have preserved your financial capital, and deployed it appropriately with a good risk/reward ratio.
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The most difficult thing for traders to do is to sit there and wait. Why? Because, we live in a world that is on a total dopamine, hypomanic binge. This is never more clearly manifest than by those who absolutely have to be in the markets at all times, desperately need to be trading and simply cannot wait. They are human do-ings, rather than human be-ings.Is stock trading difficult? Depends on who you ask.
Is stock trading difficult? Depends on who you ask. A seasoned trader with the discipline to follow well honed principles will say “trading is not difficult. See how I take losses and let my winners run?” A battered and bruised, emotionally unstable trader will say “the market is difficult. I am getting my @ss handed to me on a platter and it hurts!” A breakeven trader will say, “compared to my broker I am not doing so bad.” Our perspective makes all the difference in our success of failure. If we can have the proper perspective then the market cannot hurt us. The proper perspective includes, but is not limited to, the following: The market will do what it wants to do when it wants to do it regardless of the technical games we play. We win some lose some, in no particular order, on any given strategy. The only trading mistake that matters is when future uncertainty is not properly considered an essential element of risk. The long-term process, not short term outcomes, builds the consistency necessary to tackle market uncertainty. Responsibility accepted before the trade becomes the disciple that carries us through the trade. The best money is oftentimes made by being a non-participating, impartial observer.
So the next time someone asks if stock trading is difficult. What will be our answer? Will it be based on the proper perspective or on the last trade we made? On emotions? On our reaction to price action? News? Compared to what? A successful bust or a skinned knee? The answer can make a difference. |