The Minimalist Trader: THE NEED TO BE RIGHT

-

I’ll be the first to admit it. There have been many times in my trading career when I made my mind up about the direction the market SHOULD go, only to continually lose money by staying in a trade in an ill-advised attempt to prove to myself and to the world that I AM RIGHT!

The funny thing is, the market doesn’t care what I think. Nobody else in the world really knows my position or what I think is going to happen – nor would they care either. So who am I trying to impress?

There’s a little part of each of us that wants to show off to the world how great we are. Its more obvious in some people than in others, but we’ve all got that desire somewhere within us. We all want to be great in some way and we want everybody to know it. But the stock market is a terrible place to prove your manliness.

The problem with trying to measure your greatness via your profits and losses is you’ll never be truly happy or content. When your mood shifts in accordance with the market’s ups and downs, you’ve given all control over to an inanimate object that will seemingly mock you at every turn. You’re up! You’re down! And next thing you know the bell rings and you are exhausted. When you return home to your family or friends, you look worn out. You look defeated. And you’re less pleasant to be around. Ironically, you may have even made money today!

This is precisely the kind of action that ruins many Traders. Once you’ve lost control of the reins and handed them over to someone or something else to determine your value, you’re finished.

To maintain sanity, The Minimalist Trader doesn’t seek to be right. He doesn’t equate being right with making money. The Minimalist Trader seeks satisfaction in the process, not the results. He works his plan with full confidence that over time his plan or strategy works. His focus is on executing his plan perfectly. When your trading day or week is measured against your ability to EXECUTE, you’ve taken ego out of the equation and your mood is uneffected by market noise. This is huge.

By focusing on the process and eliminating distractions, the Minimalist Trader can’t help but establish flow with the markets. And when you’ve achieved this flow and executed your system or strategy consistently, your trading profits will accrue. However, while this is great, this is not where you will gain your most satisfaction. You’ll gain the satisfaction from expert execution, excellent focus, and the knowledge that trading and investing is only a vehicle to help you achieve greater purpose in other areas of your life.

The beauty of developing a Minimalist Trader mentality is you’ve freed yourself from the shackles and time constraints of attempting to be the “Smartest Guy in the Room.” Now you can spend more time and energy on the things and pursuits that really matter. Go forth and achieve! Run like hell from the need to be right.

For more on this series of the Enemies of the Minimalist Trader, please check these previous posts:

Comments and discussion are encouraged. Please visit www.chicagosean.com and post your comment!

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.

blog comments powered by Disqus
Chicago Sean Blog