Arctic Dreams & Nightmares

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ohkoolnutz

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Post Number: 417
Registered: 10-2005

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Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 11:11 pm:

By Marguerite Del Guidice
National Geographic Magazine, January 2007, Page 130

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0701/feature5/index.html

"If you worry, you die. If you don't worry, you also die. So why worry?"

I somehow find these words quite applicable to trading. After months I still find myself worrying about each trade I put on: "If I am wrong again I am down another $200." There is no reason. My track record is rather marvelous. It's my emotional capacity which is the limitation to my success.

Trading is about executing a plan. The plan will cause profitable and unprofitable trades. The lack of control over nature is similar to our lack of control over the market.

"If you worry, you lose. If you don't worry, you also lose. So why worry?"

---
ohk

Lies, Damn Lies and Technical Analysis

seahound

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Post Number: 34
Registered: 12-2002

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 12:29 am:

Ohkoolnutz

Bravo!

What a delightfully cast and illustrated piece - and spot on.

I have recorded your words in my own set of Rules to provide fortification when I get upset at my losses.

A big thanks.

Seahound

rockon

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Post Number: 112
Registered: 08-2003

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 07:11 pm:

Hello Okn,

I haven't read the national geographic article and I sometimes mis-interpret what others are trying to say, so I'll throw in 20 cents worth anyway.

If you haven't already seen it, then try doing a search on this forum for "Emotion Free Trading". It is a top read covering things like you describe.

I like to think of our journey towards being successful traders as a road trip with a series of bumps and bogs which have to be negotiated before we can continue on.Some people seem to fly over these obstacles as if they wern't there but eventually, they get caught out with hardly a clue on how to reverse back down the road a bit, while others get a little hesitant at each bump they encounter.

The fact that you are not risking huge sums of money and are reasonably happy with your trading performance at least tells me that you are on the right road and are heading in the right direction and that in itself should help you feel a bit more comfortable when the time comes to attack another bump or bog.

Anyone who says that they have not ever worried about a particular trade are ,in my opinion anyway, telling porkies.I know I have been worried and that feeling didn't go away by itself either.It had to be confronted and beaten like any other problem whether it be mind or body.

If a person is reasonably confident with their own analysis etc. then the mind can be forced into the back seat so to speak and the body can sometimes help to get the car over the bump.It wont take long for the mind to tell the body that it wasn't such a bad bump afterall.And when that $200 stop becomes a $2000 stop then the mind wont forget past experiences, although it needs reminding occasionally.

Some may laugh at this but I found the relaxation exercises in the "Emotion Free Trading" article really helped me to overcome a few issues which caused a bit of anxiety, with my body helping my mind over a bump or two.

Hope this makes sense and I hope I'm not barking up the wrong tree.

Good luck...... Regards..R..