This topic is probably the most important and one of the least covered. I've got a lot of things in my head that I'll post over the next few days. While we are talking about psychology though The last newsletter came to mind. http://www.iitm.com/Weekly_update/retreat_lena.htm Robert
Thanks all for your posts - very enjoyable and insightful. I don't know anything about bio-feedback measurements, but as a possible example, I think any fan of Tennis or Golf can "tell" when a player is "off his game" mentally, so to speak. A tennis player can win a brilliant set, every shot perfect, seemingly effortless. And out of nowhere its gone, and they lose a set 1-6, the double-fault rate goes up, etc. All of a sudden the player just seems to WANT to lose for some reason, nothing works well. Same for golf. I don't know how that exactly correlates to trading psychology, but it is certainly 100% mental, it drastically affects performance, and it happens to the best in the game. Maybe there is some correlation between rankings and the ability to reverse or play through these streaks - or maybe it's that for some these periods can occur as streaks at all, rather than as a constant condition - Tiger can come back from a double bogey at the very next hole, where a lesser golfer might let that kill the rest of his game or week.... (of course for me, a double bogey is a cause for celebration... )
I just had a question or comment about having to think like a trader having a negative effect on life, of not being yourself. And being someone that he's not. 1. Then don't become a trader. Find a profession that fits your current mental processing logic, perspectives, belief, faith, opinions, style, etc. etc. 2. You have to sacrifice something to gain something. It maybe time, money, belief, relationships, lifestyle, and etc. etc. 3. You say not being yourself. Then are you the same person as you were when you were 10 years ago? The course of life and experiences should have changed you in some way. The way you look, think, opinions, knowledge, experience, and etc. This can be said for you in the upcoming 10 years, it's a matter of controlling who you want to be in these coming years not letting it go. 4. I am not the way I am because my beliefs were inherited. It came from hard work and dedication. If there were a thing called talent, I'm probably the most un-talented trader out there. 5. OK, you have created a great trading system. But how did you come up with it? Did you just suddenly enlighten yourself to this system without prior market knowledge? I don't think so. I can see you've worked hard previously to create it and I respect that. To work hard, you need determination. Hope I made my point.
there are so many different styles of trading that can be done to consistantly make money in the markets... i believe its not the idea that you can't be a trader then, the trick is to find a style that matches your speed and personality.
I would have to say yes, there are different styles and you have to find something that matches them. But how would you know what matches you? Are you going to go through millions of trading styles to find what fits you? How did you find your style? What made you decide on saying, "This is my trading style!" There are things you need to be willing to do and have before you find your style. Just my 2 cents.
I'm not sure who your posts were towards, it feels as if a post was almost erased but I'll address each one. I never said thinking like a trader has a negative effect on life. That's a serious bad belief to have for a trader. If I think like one the rest of my life will be negative?... I was referring to thinking like top notch performer in any profession. They have certain beliefs, that are very different than the guys who are not doing as well. This really feels as if a post was deleted. That belief comes from a world of scarcity that there is a limited amount of everything in the world. I find that the belief of abundance seems to fit my life much better. That there is more than enough for everyone. Technology allows us to multiply what we have. I don't have to take from others to have something. I can create it. You beliefs form your world. When I say something that doesn't fit your beliefs I'm having you think outside the box. Both beliefs can be right. I can feel the world is scarce and will find numerous things to prove myself right. I can also feel the world is abundant and find numerous things to prove myself right too. Your beliefs act as a filter of what you will see. I'm definitely the same person, had the same experiences and so forth. But if I have revisited my past experiences each individually and were able to ask myself that during this time of stress did I make a belief that is forming my reality? Is this reality working for me? If the reality isn't working and you keep the same belief you will have the same results. If you change your belief than you will change your results next time a situation comes up. I've seen that beliefs are neither inherited nor come from hard work ,dedication they are formed from your experiences. They come from experiences. If you pick up a hot iron by the metal part. more than likely you will be burned and form a belief that irons can hurt you. You experienced pain from the iron...reasoned why and how to avoid it If they were inherited I would have the exact same beliefs my parent's have and I can easily disagree with them as most children will do with their parents. I've gotten great trading systems from others who were doing well. I have never reinvented the wheel and why should I? I've found someone doing something well, figured out what they are doing, how they think, and had the same results. Robert
I've got a few PM from others reading the topic who wanted to flame me. I told them to repost it what they wrote to me on the board but it looks like they haven't yet.
It would sound better having the PM's you had there. It's nice to see we are in agreement on quite a few things WDGann Hey guys if you want to talk, some of this stuff you'll gain a lot more if you will do it where you can gain feedback. Robert
Hmmmm, personally Rob I think if a trader is to reach his true potential it is paramount that he find his own "voice"... I have never been able to walk in someone else's shoes when it comes to trading... I don't really think it is a matter of necessarily re-inventing the wheel, but rather watching and observing and finding something that is in harmony with her way... I did not invent my "method", I mean I did not invent the large waves off the open, she just provided me with them PEACE and good trading, Commisso
it definitely is possible to do. but I "believe" that there is much less work and higher odds just doing what others are doing when successful.