Joe Ross
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When your money is on the line, it's natural to want to make every effort to protect yourself. You want to account for every possible adverse event that may thwart your trading plan, but you don't want to overdo it. Some traders have difficulty making a distinction between sound decision making and an obsessive need for perfection. Rather than acting decisively, they have an insatiable need to seek out certainty and security. One of the ways they seek out certainty is to make up superstitious rules to follow. They continuously search for rules that identify the "right" and "perfect" way to trade, but many times, there are no infallible rules that guarantee success. Traders must live with uncertainty and accept the fact that there are times when you have to go with your gut instinct and see what happens. But the obsessive-compulsive trader is overly concerned with trading perfectly. It is as if a little voice in the back of their mind nags them, and threatens to punish them when the "right" rules are not identified and followed unconditionally. They may waste time trying to find the "right" indicator or the "right" trade setup. And even when they see it, they have a strong need to want everything to be perfect. Because if they don't, they are certain that they will pay for it. Perfectionism can be a curse when trading the markets, however. It's essential that you strive for high standards, but not get so obsessive with perfectionism that you get stuck.
