Something just occurred to me.. Do you think you would ever be able to forget how to speak english? (directed to nobody in particular) Really think about that for a minute. OK, so what makes you think you can change the other conscious and unconscious patterns/behaviors/tendencies that were programmed into your brain since you were born. Not trying to sound pessimistic, it's a real question.
Aside from the issues of head injury and Alzheimers. . . if you were go live in another country where you had to use another language every day, and not use English, well no you wouldn't ever really forget deep down how to speak English. But you would get out of the custom of it. Depending how long you were away from English, it would feel a bit unfamiliar for a little while when you eventually came back here. But then it would all come back to you very quickly. But that's only the same as A.A. saying that you never stop being an alcoholic, deep down. But you can remain sober for the rest of your life anyhow.
Well, yeah, if I had an answer rather than just the question, I probably wouldn't have been suggesting (really asking) it. All I can imagine is that there are these big funds and investment banks that are constantly playing this game of pushing huge sums of money around from one side of the room to the other, and somehow the rest of us individual traders are scurrying around after them like mice picking up little grains and seeds.
History is filled with many examples. For arguments sake though let me draw an analogy for you. Take public speaking. It is common among many people to fear speaking in front of a large group of people. Yet it can still be done by these very same people. Their natural tendency would be to shy away from it. They can face their fear, however, by just doing it and overcome it. The fear may always be there but they can learn to work with it. Trading also has a way of bringing your unconscious patterns to light. Once there, you can devise strategies to work with them. Again, my opinion is that they may never go away completely but at the very least they can be minimized
As for difficulties trading is not different from other domains, what is really funny is that because it involves much money people thinks that it deserves more effort than everything else. Like in sport for example, some will prefer to make a 100m competition whereas others would prefer marathon. It will depend on your own capability. So the choice of scale and frequency of trades depends not only on your will but on your capability (physical, mental) capacity (capital, environment). The more reactive you are the more you can go down on lower scale. Then at a moment you will encounter the ones that are better skilled/capitalized/equipped whatever that makes them better and you must then chose the upper scale. Nevertheless statistically the higher the scale, the higher the variance so the higher your need of capital if your marketing timing is not very good. So as to avoid whipsawing the larger the scale, the less frequent you must trade.
Yes! you can actually 'forget'. As someone who speaks 3 languages fluently (not bragging) I can honestly say that the more I immerse myself in one language (or in your analogy thought process) after a few months where I only hear, see and speak it, I begin to 'forget' certain words and expressions in others. And it takes me a while to shift gears. So, if you want to erase a certain behaviour/tendency/habit...you can't!! You can only replace it.
SS.... Good comments. This is a good thread you have started. My prior reply to you was not meant to put you on the defensive... but rather to play devil's advocate and contribute to the discussion. What is so (in)valuable about ET is the ability for all levels of experience and participation (& background) to learn, share... contribute.... and continue to "grow". If anyone on ET tells me they have all the answers all the time... well, that is someone I would want to avoid, and not pay much attention to most of what they say as I feel a key attribute of a successful trader... new or veteran... is humility (to be objective) coupled with concomitant flexibility to act on same! Sometimes though one replies in an ET thread and others get defensive or "act" insecure... whereas unflappable confidence coupled with respect for all opinions is a hallmark of a very good trader....... provided in the final analysis they 'beat' to their own drum after filtering said external input. And always recall the only opinion that influences their account (s).... is the markets'! Ice
when you wrestle with snakes, don't forget the oil... (haiku) try translating that into something significant..... trading the markets is like trying to catch hold of a tiger, if you succeed the first time out (through whatever means, sheer luck, or otherwise) you win..... if you don't succeed, then its a matter of how long will the recovery time be, becuase you'll be scratched up pretty rough....I've seen one older 52+yr old almost never recover, and he would be cloudier than a thunderstorm, and more drepressing than taxes.... you have to take the time to learn a few methods, computer trading systems or analysts calls inside out...then your inner most self confidence will be based on something that's tangible to you without re-confirmation from others..... once you get that method down pat, then you move onto other skillsets, like trading styles, news analysis, trades scanning, scalping, swing trading and so forth...
Harry... this is one of the few posts of yours' that I actually understood... (what does that mean)... is it YOU or ME? :eek: Ice