Why do people trade?

[samirs]

Reading this post on another forum

Hi Please read and Share. May help others before is too late This is my last post and the hardest one ever. I dont know who will read it. For all i know I am talking to a PC....To the 5 kind people who send me a PM THANKS AND SORRY.... i just can bear this any-more...if I had this idea (in practice) 40000 us dollars ago, maybe i would still be ready...and probably would have work ......now is too late. I developed a form of compulsive gambling. Worst, i can manipulate people to give me money since when I am in "normal" mode I can tell you pretty smart things (the ones that convert 600 into 8500) But alone in front of the PC as soon as I lose money I act like a monkey with a knife and usually stop when I have lost it all. A daughter who needs me only gets away the suicidal feeling. I think there is a mafia like the gambling mafia out there ready to pray on the weak... and forex wise, am weak. A rat in a snake cage. Not sure if anybody lost more than 5 figures, which in any country it's a lot, but if you're in your way STOP, seek counselling.... La mejor suerte para ustedes.... Abrazo H

Overall it seems for an ordinary man trading is high risk and very low return pursuit. Most proficient traders also don't claim to be making more than couple of % per month consistently, if that.

One can easily progress in many other pursuits of life with half of the energy and time spent on trading aka gambling.

 

[Dick Lexic]

Reading this post on another forum



One wonders why do people get in to trading? Most know before entering what they are getting in to and even then commence on the suicidal mission.

And what makes a lot of them to carry on until it is too late?

In some ways greed is worst enemy of human beings than fear. The more capital one has when starting the more the loss. It seems one carries on hope until the pot is empty. An innocuous venture becomes an endless saga of misery, losses and destroyed lives.

Why does it have to be this way. Educated folks pushing buttons from their bedrooms taking position sizes with complete disrespect to any money management principles becoming gambling addicts.

Overall it seems for an ordinary man trading is high risk and very low return pursuit. Most proficient traders also don't claim to be making more than couple of % per month consistently, if that.

One can easily progress in many other pursuits of life with half of the energy and time spent on trading aka gambling.

you sold the merc?

 

[Dick Lexic]

no DL but my full time job provides me 6 figure salary at less effort and very low personal risk ..... I hardly find time to trade now but also experienced so far that trading returns to be much lower commensurate with effort compared to my day job

how abt u...i saw you seem to be now lurking here and not much posting.....i saw you have also ventured in to forex ....hope things are well for u

hello samirs, it's really good to hear from you i hope you and you family are well

i am not lurking mate i just needed a break from this forum. a lot of nonsense people on here, i read between the lines ..not good sometimes i have been trying to find the holly grail. it does exists, i have seen it , but before you delete let me tell you this ...if i can tell you any top to any bottom of any market would you call it the holly grail ?

 

[Dick Lexic]

well if i ever get my hands on the blueprint you'll be first to know samirs

 

[Forexmospherian]

looking forward to that DL.....till then my question remains why do people trade? i am seeing so often the stories similar to the one posted on the forum above....good people turning in to self destroying monsters

I trade to make money - that's the main reason - although I also do find it mentally stimulating and challenging.

I don't particular like the Industry I am involved in - I would not advise 7 out of 10 people to even set foot on the long journey of trying to become a successful trader and i know due to my own particular circumstances - I am very lucky to find a way that works for me.

The journey is mental torture and can be totally soul destroying. It was after 5/6 yrs that I thought I could make a go of it full time . During my part time period - I gave up for a week or longer many times- it was a mental roller coaster of having good days and then bad periods.

If you are not able to control your own "mindset" and have the brains to realise forex trading is a big game and to stay in it and even make money - you need to ignore all the sales talk and all the myths - use your own strengths and only trust yourself to find "edges" etc.

You don't want fortune telling bias swaying your trading decisions - you need to be fairly comfortable money wise with other income etc to survive the journey and most importantly you need focus, concentration, discipline and a very positive mindset.

Without a lot of these attributes plus advanced money management etc etc - you just will not have a chance of staying in the game.

That's why something like 80 % leave after 6 months or 6 years - only 5 -10% max make it - and 99% of people will get angry at sometime trading - resulting in many of them being abusive in trading forums and a few going completely off the rails.

You can understand why the commercial institutions only want well educated highly intelligent young wannabes - to "mould" them into types of human robots that can generate millions of profit for their firms. If you can handle the pressure for 5 - 10 or even 15 plus years - you will be rich - probably suffering with health problems etc - but aay - that's just the price of success.

PS - the so called "holy grail" is just yourself - nothing else ;-)))

 

[barjon]

looking forward to that DL.....till then my question remains why do people trade? i am seeing so often the stories similar to the one posted on the forum above....good people turning in to self destroying monsters

I would think that there must be a "risk" gene knocking about in the human make up which, together with "inquisitive" and "competitive" genes, aids the development and progression of the species generally.

To a greater or lesser degree people therefore like (or are gene driven into) taking risks in the interests of their betterment (money in the modern world). Gambling in its crudest form.

 

[mike.]

Trading.
Nothing more than a computer game for adults where you can win and loose real money.

 

[Pondlifedregsbutler]

Coz we're dreamers.

 

[random12345]

Coz we're dreamers.

This and lifestyle envy. Both of which are stupid as hell.

 

[postman]

Why do people trade:
1. The commute to my office is awesome I don't use public transport anymore, I walk the whole 5 steps.
2. I don't have an annual appraisals from a moron and don't waste my time on 360 reviews (people really dont like it when you tell them where they need improvement).
3. Because going forward, I no longer wish to touch base with team players who want to push the envelope with a paradigm shift they've just thought showered (cant use brainstorm anymore) by leveraging the knowledge base to do a bottom up review of the current problem space.
3. I can sit and think about the important things in life (family, friends, beer, etc..) without someone interrupting me to say I need to stop what I'm doing to attend an important meeting to decide if the meeting we arranged for next week should be bought forward or postponed because one of 17 key players cant make it.
The list is endless, but my brain is engaged in the more important things in life at the moment.

One last thing, I can make an obvious mistake in enumerating my bullet points without 20 people petty small minded individuals emailing all 40 people on a cc list to point this out!

'nuff said.

 

[malaguti]

the challenge and personal satisfaction of succeeding where so many others have failed.
but I like Postman's answer better!

 

[samirs]

are any benefits of trading not offset by stress and risks that come with it....if someone is well settled in a job drawing high 5 figures/ 6 figures salary with good scope for personal development and challenges then why should they want to get in to this...

 

[malaguti]

are any benefits of trading not offset by stress and risks that come with it....if someone is well settled in a job drawing high 5 figures/ 6 figures salary with good scope for personal development and challenges then why should they want to get in to this...

nothing worthwhile comes without an element of stress and risk
and it doesn't mean you cant do both regardless of your salary level

 

[counter_violent]

Why do people trade:
1. The commute to my office is awesome I don't use public transport anymore, I walk the whole 5 steps.
2. I don't have an annual appraisals from a moron and don't waste my time on 360 reviews (people really dont like it when you tell them where they need improvement).
3. Because going forward, I no longer wish to touch base with team players who want to push the envelope with a paradigm shift they've just thought showered (cant use brainstorm anymore) by leveraging the knowledge base to do a bottom up review of the current problem space.
3. I can sit and think about the important things in life (family, friends, beer, etc..) without someone interrupting me to say I need to stop what I'm doing to attend an important meeting to decide if the meeting we arranged for next week should be bought forward or postponed because one of 17 key players cant make it.
The list is endless, but my brain is engaged in the more important things in life at the moment.

One last thing, I can make an obvious mistake in enumerating my bullet points without 20 people petty small minded individuals emailing all 40 people on a cc list to point this out!

'nuff said.

Great post...the corporate world is full to the brim with complete tw*ts.

 

[postman]

are any benefits of trading not offset by stress and risks that come with it....if someone is well settled in a job drawing high 5 figures/ 6 figures salary with good scope for personal development and challenges then why should they want to get in to this...

When you trade for yourself you are in control...
a) Of your stress levels.
To high - trade lower amounts.
b) Of your Risks.
You manage your own risk you know when things are going badly. How many times have you seen footage on TV of office workers carrying cardboard boxes out the front door who never saw it coming and weren't prepared.

By the way look around your office do people have photos of loved ones, pets, exotic holiday locations on their desks. It's because that is where they'd rather be. I know you cant see my desk but trust me I dont have a photo of a 6x6 grey cubicle on it.

Maybe I trade because I like to be in control.

 

[Forexmospherian]

are any benefits of trading not offset by stress and risks that come with it....if someone is well settled in a job drawing high 5 figures/ 6 figures salary with good scope for personal development and challenges then why should they want to get in to this...

Stress - I had a lot more in the previous industry I worked in - not just long hours and deadlines - but hassle of travelling and other work colleagues letting you down etc etc. Yes the money was great and near enough guaranteed - even the bonuses - but that was in the good old 1980's to early 2005 era - when everything was rosy.

You have probably realised you are not going to be a great trader in 2 to 3 years - yes you might survive - but you need the time and the experience to get there and so to earn 100K plus a year trading you need good capital behind you and probably - 2 - 4 yrs of regular consistent profits - showing you can trade rather than having 3 or 6 months of luck etc

Stress for me would be being a single 19 yr old girl with 2 kids living on benefits - ill health - no family and with no hope - losing $300 or even $1000 on a trade is just an overhead - factored in to your trading business plan

Regards

F

 

[sonofcablemonster]

the main reasons why humans do anything are fear, greed & vanity. In the case of trading the greed and vanity needs are fulfilled quite nicely. The fear driver could be the fear of missing out when others are so obviously taking a slice of the 4 trn forex market. So trading has great drivers.

You can analyse virtually any human decision by looking at these 3 drivers.

 

[Forexmospherian]

the main reasons why humans do anything are fear, greed & vanity. In the case of trading the greed and vanity needs are fulfilled quite nicely. The fear driver could be the fear of missing out when others are so obviously taking a slice of the 4 trn forex market. So trading has great drivers.

You can analyse virtually any human decision by looking at these 3 drivers.

I suppose the other key driver - having loads of sex - can be covered under greed and vanity - and only fear if its not your partner.

 

[BSD]

Why do people trade:
1. The commute to my office is awesome I don't use public transport anymore, I walk the whole 5 steps.
2. I don't have an annual appraisals from a moron and don't waste my time on 360 reviews (people really dont like it when you tell them where they need improvement).
3. Because going forward, I no longer wish to touch base with team players who want to push the envelope with a paradigm shift they've just thought showered (cant use brainstorm anymore) by leveraging the knowledge base to do a bottom up review of the current problem space.
3. I can sit and think about the important things in life (family, friends, beer, etc..) without someone interrupting me to say I need to stop what I'm doing to attend an important meeting to decide if the meeting we arranged for next week should be bought forward or postponed because one of 17 key players cant make it.
The list is endless, but my brain is engaged in the more important things in life at the moment.

One last thing, I can make an obvious mistake in enumerating my bullet points without 20 people petty small minded individuals emailing all 40 people on a cc list to point this out!

'nuff said.

Haha.

GREAT post !

 

[DaxDestroyer]

Yepp ... cool response ... and what about money? I'm doing it for money ... hope that nobody hates me for that

Haha.

GREAT post !