What has trading taught you about yourself?

[cassiopeia]

I have been reading an innerworth article about what trading has taught us about ourselves.

In most other fields we are reliant on others, subject to personal biases (positive or negative) and sometimes don't need to face up to the full consequences of our actions or conversely get blamed for events beyond our control. In trading you take all the responsibility and you get what you deserve in the long run although luck plays a major role in the short term.

So have you learned anything about yourself through your trading activities? i.e. discipline, self reliance, insight, arrogance or overconfidence?

Overall, I think it has given me a more positive outlook on life, well in some areas at least. This is surprising since trading originally gave me the impression of being ruled by quick minded individuals with a good memory for facts and figures who could make fast decisions based on a mass of disparate information. In fact planning, objectivity and discipline appear to be the more important attributes. This is hardly Hollywood material, but very satisfying non the less.

However, our personalities do not remain completely static, perhaps a more appropriate question would be has it changed us for the better and the the way we approach situations? One thing trading has taught me is that I can rarely get everything from a situation, first you have to risk something and even then you will not get all of what you see. You have to be prepared to loose a little to get the best overall return. Also one has to admit failure on occasions and put the bad experience behind you rather than letting it drag on and get worse.

 

[Helenqu]

I think it's still teaching me how impatient I am and that's my biggest fault in trading and life

 

[bonsai]

The single most inportant thing I learned a long time ago
is that I am not a 'natural' trader.
If anything I am an 'accumulator'.
Which means patience and more patience and only trading
very selected set ups.

It means a number of opportunities get missed.
But for me it has been more than worth it.

 

[barjon]

Hi all,

Just back from hiking in the Lakes where the peaks and troughs are as physically taxing as I find them mentally when in front of the screen.

The biggest lesson trading has taught me is to accept mistakes (although I still see them as failures) and not to chase to make good the loss. Humility and patience sum it up.

Good trading.

Jon

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi Cassiopeia

This is a very interesting question, especially as we're told that trading will find your faults and expose them.

I have learnt that working for myself beats office working hands down. It's also changed my view of money in that there are easier ways to make money instead of doing "An honest days work"

As I go on further in trading, I know the markets will probably reveal more about myself - A journey of discovery that is exciting.

Just my thoughts

 

[kinglatfan]

Trading has taught me


a) to keep it simple.

b) to enjoy my week ends.

c) to realise that it is best to work for myself and not others: others will only exploit you but you can hardly exploit yourself

d) to enjoy the sun when it shines

e) to observe at my leisure

f) to only trade what I understand

g) to cut my losses and run my winners

h) not to worry about pension valuations

i) to only trade when I am both mentally and physically in the mood

I could go on but perhaps my initial thoughts are the best.

KINGLATFAN

 

[contrarian]

"When I went to men for the first time, I committed the folly of hermits, the great folly: I set myself in the market-place.
And when I spoke to everyone, I spoke to no one. In the evening however, tight-rope walkers and corpses were my companions: and I myself was almost a corpse.
With my new morning, however, came to me a new truth: then I learned to say: 'What are the the market-place and the mob's confusion and the mob's long ears to me!' "

An excerpt from Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra

 

[okwon]

I'm not good at moving on from losses. When I have a losing day, it bothers me until I have a winning day and makes me second guess all of my trades until then. I wish I could just forget about it and move on. I know losing days are unavoidable, but it still bothers me and usually ruins my trading on the next day as well causing me to have breakeven on a day I should be positive.

I also realized that I'm a wuss. I don't like taking big risks even though this is where the bigger payoffs are.

 

[DaveGos]

That my self discipline is the most important part of my trading system and that I'm nowhere near as self disciplined as I should be.

 

[JungleJim]

I have learned that I hate loosing money.

It has taught me to be patient and let profits run.

 

[bottomdollar]

Learnt that I'm pretty useless at it

Need more confidence and patience... an ever learning game!

 

[reddragon]

Hi all,
I've learnt that there is big diference between paper and
live trading - yes the market does find you out - it's no use
2nd guessing - there is a very steep learning curve - as there
should be - if trading was easy they'd have taught us how to
in school.
Reddragon.

 

[TheOwl]

What has Trading taught me is :-

that I hate to lose.. (I know it is a weakness) , but the fear of losing causes me to hold on to a losing position for far too long.

that when I get into a trade and it starts to make money I have great difficulty in not closing the position early, thus losing out on further profits.

I beleive these are classic issues that effect the majority of new traders, and I feel that by me knowing they are weakness I am half way to reducing their effect on my trading.

I would be interested to hear from some of the more experianced and successfull people here if they too had similar problems when they started trading, and what did they do to combat them.

 

[Grey1]

if i was as EFFICIENT as market is then i would have won all the time.. wink

 

[micromike]

I personally find that greed can badly harm your trading and blur your judgment.

Being patient helps a lot but find it is easier said than done.

Finally, that when having made a loss one remains cool and objective - in fact just the same really as when you make a winning trade.

Mike