Yesterday, we spent an hour in a group therapy session with Marcos, a trader that recently overcame one of the most common problems in trading - sticking to the plan. In his case, the plan was 50 pages long when we met and is just 2 pages now. Something that enabled consistency. That consistency landed him 2 funded accounts at an online prop firm. This is an interview-style group therapy, where we look a the changes made in his trading, to get back on track. Like many, the over-complication of trading rules was a major factor in his inconsistency. This and a number of other changes that may seem minor built his confidence and consistency. Not some magic bullet, but also not something you need to pay thousands of dollars for. Simple things like understanding situations you can put yourself in that cause overwhelming pressure to perform. More was taken away than was added. This is not a "super-trader" story. It's about busting through a plateau that many never get through. The idea was to get his thoughts now that he's reached a new performance threshold he could not attain before. I think it turned out well and will give insight to those stuck at that plateau. It'll also help those that don't have a well-defined plan that may be tempted to over-engineer one. In the video, Marcos also discussed a video that had made a difference, put things into perspective in a way that helped. I had a chat with him after the event as people will no doubt be asking what it is and if they have to pay for it. The video is free, nothing to sign up for and is on this blog post.
Nice video. While I was listening. a term came to mind : Trading Maturity. We start as being very immature - doing things we will regret later but not scared of consequences yet. Some traders never mature or even survive this period. The ones that do just stop doing things that they already know have severe negative consequences. I also like your concept of “Boxing it in”
It is a good term "Trading Maturity" - but I think it'd be a bit unpopular tagging people as "Trading immature"! Helping people like Marcos is something I do to "pay it forward" - I toyed with paid mentorships for a while but ultimately, it meant turning people down that I felt weren't where they needed to be. It's a no-win. So, every now and again I hit it off with someone I meet and I help them for free. I'm not Mother Therese and I am not looking for a sainthood - but on the "student" side - it's a hell of a lot easier to take a leap of faith with someone that isn't getting paid to assist. I don't have to deal with them questioning my motivations when it's tough. I cannot explain why people have these issues. It seems insanity to continue to do things that hurt but I don't think people can see it as well as an outsider. But somehow you need to do a few things. Gain their trust, get them to change their behavior and most important - take the pain out of the whole development process. The idea that you are in a "failed" state until profitable is soul-destroying. Now - where did I put my halo?