Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
The positives of being a trading drop-out
Brett Steenbarger wrote a fascinating post on when trading dreams die.
He made two salient points: sometimes we just lose passion for trading; and that many traders are deluded by desires for quick, easy riches.
“What makes it (trading) a fantasy is that it is an effort to achieve success without such effort,” he said.
I suspect these two issues are linked: when traders realise they won’t get rich overnight they often lose interest.
I’m sure many traders simply drift off having found other challenges, higher (expected?) rates of returns elsewhere, etc.
For the ‘fantasists’ trading can be dangerous. Some waste years and huge sums using trading to try and escape character flaws and the brutal realities of working for a living.
But it’s not all bad news. The irony is that while many trade to try and solve personal issues, trading can also shine the spotlight on our biggest weaknesses.
Most advanced traders know that success comes from having an edge, good risk management, and psychology. They also know that only your own hard work and attitude determine success.
When traders work that out, it forces them to look inward for causes of problems (and success), rather than blaming others. This can trigger an amazing journey exploring psychological weaknesses, strengths, quirks etc; basically you get to know yourself better and learn to accept responsibility.
So even if I drift away from trading it won’t have been a waste of time: the rewards it has delivered me in non-monetary rewards far outweigh any financial gains. Far, far greater!
Word Count: 237. This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 9:32 am and is filed under Investing psychology, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
