The more money I make, the more logical, rational, I become, the more cold blooded I become. There is a family member waiting for a test result for a tumor test in 2 weeks. Relatives are so worried, and I only said "let's see the result first, then we see what we do from there. meanwhile, forget about it for 2 weeks." I said what I meant, because if I have to carry the useless worries, how can I make the right decisions in investing, trading? I become more and more "to do what is right, not what i like". When I was a child, I live in an enviroment that I was the only kid not smoking. Peer presure already made me the extreme minority. I live so cheaply that nobody thinks that I make good money (I am not a salesperson, so no need for fancy cars or dresses). I become so calm that there is anything exciting me. When watching world cup final, I did not feel a thing, not like 8 years ago, BECAUSE i did not place my bet, so the outcome is not related to me. Doing extensive research in stocks makes me automatically filting out unrelated information. Cold-blooded creatures take on the temperature of their surroundings. They are hot when their environment is hot and cold when their environment is cold. Cold-blooded traders take on the directions of their surroundings. They long gold when gold is high and going higher and short when low and going lower. The problem is do you live too logical and too rational in your normal life?
Good post. Many will not understand what you're saying here but it's vital information. There's a quote that goes something like "Don't look for excitement in the market, find it elsewhere." Reaching this level of detachment, especially while in a trade, is trader nirvana. --opm8
I can tell u are a successful trader. Although i am not making millions yet, but i am starting to run into the same problem. No emotions on everything. Wars, Sports game, you name it. As a trader, worrying about things we cant control is a waste of mental capital and yet i feel something is wrong about being cold-blooded. Any solution?
There's nothing with being level-headed in non-trading situations that are stressful to most people. But when you "check you emotions at the door" don't lose the claim slip. I find taking regular, scheduled vacations helps keep me balanced (or close enough, I like staying a little imbalanced). And be careful, you cannot remove emotion from your personal life, only temporarily suppress it. It will come back sometime, for good or bad.
Hehe, I hope you are a successful trader, because I feel I am the same way kinda. Although I don't yet claim to be successful, just still alive, I try and keep open minded about everything. When I first started I was so excited every day about trading, it was the thrill of my life, while I was in school, all I could think about was trading and my heart was racing as the ticks till the bell rang came. Now it's just something I have to do and do it. I make less trades and wait for the good trades and when I put on a trade, it's almost like I don't even really care what happens anymore. My winning precentage since then had gone much higher. I still enjoy being able to trade, but I'm just much more calm and .... it's just like playing a video game for me. I just play the game because I like to, and sometimes I win, sometimes I lose (I actually like it when I lose in games because it challenges me to do better), and that's just how i see it. Good stuff though Although when watching the Superbowl when my team, Pittsburgh Steelers were in it, I have to say I was out of my damn mind and going crazy beyond all belief.
Misconceptions, preconceptions and inhibitions. Anticipation? You've got to know when to stop 'over analysing'...you are going too far! Go with the flow...trade the ticker! Thinking about your next trade? Up or down?
It's probably the right way to trade-- calm, detached, dispassionate. I should aim to be like that as a trader... But is it the right way to live? Though I agree 100% that absolute rationality is necessary in trading, I could not help but feel a tinge of sadness reading that post. No sadness, anger, fear, greed, disappointment yes, but where is the joy, excitement, passion, love, happiness? We are human after all. It's like the classic debate between Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock. Maybe we should aim to strike a healthy balance between our "trader" and "real" personas, and not let the markets change us too much.
In life, there are certain things that have to be done in a certain way, the right way. The right way can be broken down further, we are all individual. Some things in life are not fun. Deal with it.