Why Learning to Trade is a Lonely Business
"Don't be silly!" I hear you say. I'm in chatrooms, I talk to people on BBs, I meet fellow traders at meetings and attend seminars. It's not lonely at all!
I wouldn't decry the importance of sharing knowledge and information which is something all the above activities give you (as well as actually getting the feeling there are other people in the world and having the chance to step outside the door once in a while!). But I think anyone who is serious about trading needs to be prepared to spend lots and lots of time on their own. Thinking, looking at charts, reviewing trades via a logbook and developing strategies.
One of the things that strikes me over and over again is how cyclical the postings on BBs are, a group of newbies arrive full of enthusiasm and confidence that they will make millions in no time flat. Some will have a few good runs and think they have made it, others will lose a few times and slink off back to cyber-oblivion. Others have mixed experiences and start to read and learn about trading, some get bored and drop out. The rest and it's a minority, develop an obessional love for it, it fascinates them.
These people are entering an apprenticeship, which like any other professional training prgramme becomes a never ending process of learning. This model of professional development from education (NCRTEC, 2002) is helpful is seeing the circular process that is involved in mastering trading or any other complex activity.
The diagram shows how we initally seek information, read books, attend seminars, seek the "grail". We look to others for examples on which to model ourselves, we change our trading to mimic them. It doesn't work so we look at ourselves and consider why. We start to realise that we are "different" in subtle ways from everyone else we meet and that we have to find our own solutions but we keep looking at others practice for solutions to our current concerns. We help others along the path and we realise how far we have come but we never get to the end
"Don't be silly!" I hear you say. I'm in chatrooms, I talk to people on BBs, I meet fellow traders at meetings and attend seminars. It's not lonely at all!
I wouldn't decry the importance of sharing knowledge and information which is something all the above activities give you (as well as actually getting the feeling there are other people in the world and having the chance to step outside the door once in a while!). But I think anyone who is serious about trading needs to be prepared to spend lots and lots of time on their own. Thinking, looking at charts, reviewing trades via a logbook and developing strategies.
One of the things that strikes me over and over again is how cyclical the postings on BBs are, a group of newbies arrive full of enthusiasm and confidence that they will make millions in no time flat. Some will have a few good runs and think they have made it, others will lose a few times and slink off back to cyber-oblivion. Others have mixed experiences and start to read and learn about trading, some get bored and drop out. The rest and it's a minority, develop an obessional love for it, it fascinates them.
These people are entering an apprenticeship, which like any other professional training prgramme becomes a never ending process of learning. This model of professional development from education (NCRTEC, 2002) is helpful is seeing the circular process that is involved in mastering trading or any other complex activity.
The diagram shows how we initally seek information, read books, attend seminars, seek the "grail". We look to others for examples on which to model ourselves, we change our trading to mimic them. It doesn't work so we look at ourselves and consider why. We start to realise that we are "different" in subtle ways from everyone else we meet and that we have to find our own solutions but we keep looking at others practice for solutions to our current concerns. We help others along the path and we realise how far we have come but we never get to the end
