Archives of “self esteem” tag

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The 'Self-Factors' of Successful traders

  
  Education
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  •  – Knowledge of oneself and how one acts and behaves in situations and environments.
  • Self-Belief; – Self-Confidence – assuredness in one’s actions, judgments and abilities.
  • Self-Trust; -The ability to have faith in oneself under duress and pressure.
  • Self-Reliance; – Ability to depend on one’s own capabilities, judgment, and resources , and acceptance that nobody else is responsible for profits and losses.
  • Self-discipline; – A structured approach that keeps a person focused and grounded against negative forces and pressures.
  • Self-Control; – Is the ability of exert mind muscle and will-power to overcome the negative effects which can so easily distract and distort perceptions and judgments.
  • Self-Motivation; – Describes the initiative to undertake risks and activities when the mood and environment have been counterproductive.
  • Self-Esteem; – High regard, respect or value for one’s self, but not to the level of being conceited, or having an over-inflated opinion of their worth.
  • Self-efficacy; – Belief in one’s own competency and ability.

In summary, successful traders take responsibility for their own actions, but rarely beat themselves up. – If I was to sum it up succinctly, they know themselves, they like themselves, they believe in themselves, and above all – ‘they are comfortable in their own skin’.  (more…)

3 Thoughts On Freud And Trading

  
  Education
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1) We internalize our sense of self from our significant relationship experiences.Relationships serve as a kind of psychological mirror, by which we can experience ourselves through others. If our relationships are positive and healthy, we’re more apt to internalize a positive sense of self. It’s only a small step from this insight to the realization that we have a relationship with *all* of our life activities. We experience ourselves through our trading: over time trading without an edge and without proper risk control virtually ensures that our trading will take a personal toll.

2) We defend ourselves against sources of anxiety. These defense mechanisms may keep us from becoming anxious, but they often are maladaptive and create problems in social and work situations. If we’re feeling inadequate or vulnerable, we might defend against these feelings by jumping into trades or by avoiding markets altogether. What we do to manage our feelings often is the opposite of what we need to do to properly manage our money and positions.

3) We tend to replay conflicts in past relationships in our current relationships. These unresolved problems reappear in different situations until we find resolution. Many trading problems occur when we act out our needs for recognition and self-worth in our trades. The trader who breaks rules when trading and takes undue risk often is needing the markets to provide desired emotional experiences, not just profits. To the degree that we act out our personal issues in markets, we can’t be fully focused on those markets.

A summary of Freud’s view would be the dictum that those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. It is our repetitive patterns across situations of uncertainty and gain/loss that can take us away from doing what we know to be best.

Life and Markets

  
  Education
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LIFEANDMARKETRespect is the first casualty in lost love.

Four industries dominate the economy: hope, escape, protection, and convenience.

Success is the point at which talent and skill meet opportunity.

The aim of all trading education: to encourage trading.

The printing press democratized the acquisition of knowledge; the computer has democratized its dissemination.

Date markets before deciding to marry them.

Anatomy of a bad trade: Hope, then despair.

Love, once present, never dies. It must be killed. (more…)

Keep Your EGO out of Trading.

  
  Education
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“Of all the traps and pitfalls in life ,self-disesteem is the deadliest ,adnd the hardest to overcome;for it is a pit designed and dug by our owen hands ,summed up in the phrase ,’It’s no use-I can’t do it .'” -Maxwell Maltz

ego-1

The ego had no place in trading.An unstable ego will attach  itself to anything you do.And trading is not exception.You cannot use the trading arena as an area to prove your worth or your capability.It will just bring your trading and your self-esteem to new lows.

If your ego is getting in the way of your trading,you need to build up your self-esteem.One way to do this to begain to appreciate yourself.Pay attention to what you’re doing that’s good.Give yourself recognisation for the little things you do as you go through the day.Make lists of your accomplishments.Make lists of your positive attributes.Each day ask yourself ,”What did I today that I’m proud of ?”Ask yourself ,”In what way an I improving ? “

Desire and Fear in Trading

  
  Education
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Desire and fear alternate in the minds of traders as they go through the day.  But let me ask you whether desire or fear dominates your thoughts and feelings as you trade? 

For many traders the primary emotion is fear.  They fear loss: losing profits, losing money, losing equity and even their margin.  Some fear losing their touch, their feel for the market, their focus, their luck, the respect of their boss, colleagues, or mate, or worse, their own self esteem.

Other traders are flooded with the emotion of desire.  They look forward to what the day will produce.  They like the thrill of the chase.  They have a sense of unlimited potential and abundant opportunities for profit.  They anticipate improving their skills, intuition, and understanding as they go through the trading day and week.

Keep in mind that desire is not greed.  Greed is an inordinate wanting.  It is excessive desire and comes from a sense of scarcity, a feeling that there is not and will not be enough.  Desire is healthy: greed is unhealthy.

What you feel depends upon your mental focus.  Do you place your conscious and unconscious attention on the possibility of loss or the probability (hopefully) of gain?

What you hold in your conscious attention colors your reality and becomes the quality and fabric of your life and trading. In your life, do you look for what’s missing, or do you pay attention to what you have and can create?  Do you think about terrible things that have happened and could happen again, or do you think about wonderful experiences you’ve had and expect even better things ahead?  Trading is a microcosm of life.  What you do in life, you’ll do in trading.

You can through conscious volition change your focus from loss to gain.  You can imagine failure or success.  You can anticipate improving your skills and understanding, or you can worry about getting even worse. (more…)

A lesson on Ego and Risk

  
  Education
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ego-riskMost traders drawn to risk management focus on the external “how to” aspect of trading, vs. the inner aspect of emotions and psychology. This is where trouble begins.
• In the school model, one’s self-esteem is tied to being right. Avoiding mistakes, especially public mistakes becomes paramount. But in trading, one can be wrong in most choices and experience regular “outlier” events in the course of trading the markets. Traders must somehow learn that they will miss out or be incorrect regularly and still have a shot at great success. 
• Traders need to have a survival plan. Know when you will get out of a trade before you get in.
• If you don’t take the small loss today, your capital and trading career may not survive tomorrow.
• The most successful traders surrender their egos to not knowing the frequency or magnitude of any trend. They quiet their mind and follow their inner voice.
• Most of the world can’t keep their losses small. Professional traders and investors who’ve been around for decades are usually those who play the best defense. 

Desire and Fear in Trading

  
  Education
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Desire and fear alternate in the minds of traders as they go through the day.  But let me ask you whether desire or fear dominates your thoughts and feelings as you trade? 

For many traders the primary emotion is fear.  They fear loss: losing profits, losing money, losing equity and even their margin.  Some fear losing their touch, their feel for the market, their focus, their luck, the respect of their boss, colleagues, or mate, or worse, their own self esteem.

Other traders are flooded with the emotion of desire.  They look forward to what the day will produce.  They like the thrill of the chase.  They have a sense of unlimited potential and abundant opportunities for profit.  They anticipate improving their skills, intuition, and understanding as they go through the trading day and week.

Keep in mind that desire is not greed.  Greed is an inordinate wanting.  It is excessive desire and comes from a sense of scarcity, a feeling that there is not and will not be enough.  Desire is healthy: greed is unhealthy.

What you feel depends upon your mental focus.  Do you place your conscious and unconscious attention on the possibility of loss or the probability (hopefully) of gain?

What you hold in your conscious attention colors your reality and becomes the quality and fabric of your life and trading. In your life, do you look for what’s missing, or do you pay attention to what you have and can create?  Do you think about terrible things that have happened and could happen again, or do you think about wonderful experiences you’ve had and expect even better things ahead?  Trading is a microcosm of life.  What you do in life, you’ll do in trading. (more…)

Why Do I Want To Trade?

  
  Education
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“I Want To Find Out Who I Really Am”

When you trade your monitor will do a funny thing. It will become a mirror. A special type of mirror. A mirror that reflects your self-confidence, your self-esteem, your self-worth. The numbers and lines you see on your screen are just that, numbers and lines. Market information. At your choosing, when you decide to become part of those numbers and lines (putting on/off the trade) a sort of test begins. A test about you.

If you see the test as threatening, you will feel threatened. If you see the test as war, you will be engaging in war. If you see the test as one more failure, you will fail. If you see the test as the need to prove yourself right, you will administered the pain of being wrong. If you see the test as certainty, you will be rudely introduced to uncertainty. If you see the test as a battle of wills, you will sacrifice your soul. If you see the test as fear or loss of money, you will be giving away your scared money.

If you see and believe the test to be an exchange of information, you now become the one to confirm or deny information. If you believe the test to be one of giving up what you want in order to get it, you will get it. Get it?

There is an irony in trading of both price and time. It is exactly what you have to give of yourself in order to trade it with understanding.

P.S. There are only two types of traders, “Long Lived” and “Short Lived.” Both know the markets well. The “Longed Lived” just choose know “Themselves” better.Anyone who contemplates trading should ask themselves one simple question…..”Why Do I Want To Trade?” There are many wrong answers to this question, and only one right one…..

Evaluating Yourself as a Trader

  
  Education
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Here I’ve shortened and republished ten items for self-evaluation:

1) What is the quality of your self-talk while trading?

2) What work do you do on yourself and your trading while the market is closed?

3) How would your trading profit/loss profile change if you eliminated a few days where you lacked proper risk control?

4) Does the size of your positions reflect the opportunity you see in the market?

5) Are trading losses often followed by further trading losses due to frustration?

6) Do you cut winning trades short because, deep inside, you don’t think you’ll be able to achieve large profits?

7) Is trading making you happy, proud, fulfilled, and content, or does it more often leave you feeling unhappy, guilty, frustrated, and dissatisfied?

8) Are you making trades because the market is giving you opportunity, or are you placing trades to fulfill needs–for excitement, self-esteem, recognition–that aren’t being met in the rest of your life?

9) Are you seeking returns that are realistic given your level of experience and development?

10) Can you identify the specific edges you possess over the many other motivated, interested traders that fail to achieve success in the markets?

Many answers to trading problems begin by asking the right questions.

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