It seems most traders have problems with their own self - psychology & emotions! Is it really too hard to be disciplined? Maybe it's common flaw to most humans.
I think the problem is that trading puts you inside an environment where every weakness of yours is going to affect you. The psychological profile of a sucesfull trader is very rare.
The problem may be the construction of the brain. One useful current theory sees it as not being one cohesive system but a bunch of different elements that contribute to create action. Your perception of the "single" consciousness is an illusion created a few milliseconds after the real decision takes place (Buddha was right). Much of the emotional memories lie in a different part of the brain to the "intellectual" memories so they are not linked in a straightforward and easily changed manner. Using this model you can see how any bad pattern (in too soon, waiting to long, holding and hoping, cant hold etc etc), once started, can be ingrained in one or more components and hard to move past. This seems to be to be useful in explaining how hard it is to move past (and stay moved past) the trading errors I have experienced at various times. I am currently about to start a 21 day period to try to banish 2 particularly problematic behaviors of mine.
First things first. For anyone interested in learning something of value. Just go back and read some of my posts. Often they begin with a sentence that reads something like this "I suggest you take a moment to THINK before you type....." The reason I often start my comments with this "suggestion" is that people who take time to think before speaking (or typing) generally know how to analyze a problem and arrive at a productive answer. If you look closely at the posts that clog this site, you can see that most people simply want to engage in something that psychologists call "ventilating" or expressing their (pick one) anger, frustration, envy, dislike, hope, need, fear about a subject. Very seldom to they actually respond to a previous post with a productive suggestion or a comment that helps someone to gain a better understanding of a subject or a problem. Everyone wants what they want NOW and they feel entitled to get it here NOW and without having to do any work for it. The "IT" part is money, and the mechanism is trading, and frankly most could care less about the mechanics as long as they are winning. Most often what they are looking for is a set of iron clad rules that they can execute without having to THINK..... Every now and then we see a person who arrives on the site and posts intelligent, helpful educational or instructional material and in the process shows himself to be an adult (what a concept). What you can always see in that kind of person is A. Discipline B. A sense of abundance. There is no hesitation to help, nor a feeling that they are guarding something. They have clear boundaries as to what they will and will not do, and the information they provide is given freely because they have an inner confidence that comes from having successfully met challenges in their lives. They know they are going to be okay and so why not give something back. Now as far as "disorders"...Just read the posts. Pay attention to those who are known to have many aliases and ask yourself, how many of those folks are really successful. I propose to you that none are successful. Why? Because they have not enjoyed success in their lives, not in their professional lives, not in their private lives. They want something but are not willing to give back, because for them the world is a place of limitation, of competition and of scarcity. Fear is the main theme of their existence and they are always looking for an advantage. In general they make poor traders because they cannot delay gratification, therefore they never have the patience to get to the end of a project like learning the basics of a particular market. The final trademark of this disorder is "the front"..They are successful in a fantasy world that they create. They are successful until someone comes along to put a pin in the balloon. They are successful until they are asked to demonstrate competence and then their world cracks and the only thing that saves them is denial. It isn't happening, its not them its YOU. The fact that they live in a crappy trailer park, or a tenement apartment, or run down hotel does not matter, because any day now they are going to find that one thing that makes them into the fantasy person they have fabricated here on ET. The problem is that day never comes. I hope that is of some help Steve
great post. for those wondering whether or not they are that person... ctrl - c, then ctrl - v, finally ctrl - p
Eloquent, but if you look deeply into yourself you might find that you are not telling the truth. If you are then you may need to try an approach thats more helpful and less satisfying to your own ego. Echo
Steve, you have absolutely no sense of literary history. What you call "aliases", a literate man would call "noms de plume". It is a venerable and honorable practice followed by many successful people. And never think that you are so smart that you can know everthing about a person from what his nom de plume writes. Not a problem in the case of the direct person, however. You clearly are insufferably arrogant, intolerant and judgemental.
Actually I do understand the concept. The difference is that those people had something of substance to say, and a reason to protect their identities. You on the other hand simply inflict yourself on us, and offer nothing of value in return. I think you do need to protect yourself, from those of us who are tired of having to endure this drivel. So for you and others like you, a nom de plume is appropriate. By the way, the French are so gay, and you seem to be quite a girl yourself. I think you should go and find your testicles and have them re-attached, as it may improve the quality of your posts. "Balls" said the Queen, "If I had them I'd be king" But she never was....
Ok, I just went short right now and need to think about something other than mrs market... Steve is hitting on some very important ideas about one's mental composition/behavior and its relationship to success. eco, Your post sticks out like a sore thumb - your are insecure and you just consciously showed this with your writing. You have a fragile and inflated ego that will pop will the slightest provocation. Rather than interpret the ideas behind steve's post, you internalized his opinion on the matter and made a personal attack. You have issues with his post because it reveals too much about your own insecurities. Hypo, Contrary to your belief, it is very easy to read in between the lines of what someone writes. There are clues everywhere, the wording and thought structure is very revealing because it is premeditated. For you to say that you are able to deceive your readers and that writers have been doing this for centuries may be accurate, however, I doubt those writers have achieved any real tangible personal success, be it psychological or emotional peace with themselves. If your intention is to fuck with people's mind via a premeditated thought process I have to say you better be damn smart. In any event, pathological persons get revealed eventually regardless of how smart they are... Mike EDIT: Got stopped out for a 3rd time in a row today...