Well maybe that's overstating it a little, but it's certainly one of the most important.
It is?(drum roll please)? "the need to be right"!
Now that probably wasn't what you were expecting. You might have thought it was going to be something like not picking the trend or putting too much money on a single trade or one of a dozen other things.
But I can assure you, from bitter experience, that this one attitude causes more problems than most other things you might do as a trader. And it's worse for men! Something to do with ego or testosterone?
You see our whole society is based on the importance of being right. The need to be right.
Your parents rewarded you when you are right and told you off when you were "wrong". They probably still do this now that you are grown up!
From your earliest days at school you are taught that being right is the most important thing. Isn't that what tests teach you? And this is reinforced through the rest of your life. Your boss probably reminds you of this just about every day!
But some of the best things occur when we aren't right. Like the time you take a wrong turn. Either in your travels or in your life. And you end up at this amazing place or with this amazing person that you never would have, had you done the "right" thing.
Plus there's not a lot of point beating yourself up when you aren't "right". Because, as we all know, it's going to happen pretty regularly!
Coming from Australia, I don't know a lot about baseball. But I do understand that batters get paid a lot of money to miss hit the ball an awful lot! Think about that. Top baseballers step up to the plate every day knowing that they are more than likely not going to get it "right". Yet they are confident and successful because they know that over a season they are going to get it right often enough.
Don't Beat Yourself Up or the Market Will join In!
I went to a speed-reading course many years ago. I didn't learn how to read faster (!) but I did learn an attitude that has stuck with me ever since. It is ? "Focus. No attachment to the outcome."
This guy was telling us about how he taught elite sportsmen to achieve their best (hope he was better at that than teaching people how to read fast!). He explained that the trick was to get them to keep taking the shot (or making the jump or whatever) without getting upset with themselves if they got it wrong.
The key was for them to focus on what they had to do in that moment, not on the outcome.
Maybe I have lost you? But the point I'm trying to make is that you need to go into each of your trades with your focus - not on being right - but on following your trading system.
And then the key is to not beat yourself up if you "get it wrong". Because if you have followed your system and you know the system works over time, you have done the "right" thing.
Once you have confidence in your trading method your only focus is on following the signals.
"Focus. No attachment to the outcome."
By the way, try this approach in other areas of your life. It really works! My golf was much better once I stopped getting angry at myself for every lousy shot.
Deadly Attitude in the Market
In the stock market you can't afford to hold onto the need to be "right"!
When trading, you cannot be right 100% of the time. In fact, you can be right only 50% of the time and still make lots of money. But this means you have to be wrong an awful lot!
The market will do what the market will do - no matter what your opinion might be. If you are holding a stock and you expect it to go up in price but it starts to go down, what happens?
If you are like me, a little voice inside says something like "?but this wasn't meant to happen!?it can't do this to me!? I know I'm right ? it's just a temporary set back; it will come right, I'll just wait it out?
This "voice of reason" is your ego. You can't bear to be wrong, so you justify your decision to yourself. You must be right! You tell yourself that you know what's going to happen?the market's just confused?it's just got it wrong! (totally illogical reasoning ? the market can never be "wrong" - but it makes sense at the time!).
This deep-seated, primordial need that we have to be right can destroy you in the stock market. It will make you put too much money on one trade. And it will make you hold onto stocks that you should have sold days or even weeks ago.
It will mean you will miss opportunities you should have taken because your view was the opposite of what actually happens. And you can miss getting extra profits from a trade because you were convinced that "?it couldn't possibly go any higher?"
By being aware of this "need" you can overcome it ? over time! You need to get to the point where you "want what the market wants". Not what you want.
Just remember.
"Focus. No attachment to the outcome."
David Chandler
Ordinary People Making Extraordinary Profits!
For a free mini-course on stock and options trading click the following link:
http://www.stockmarketgenie.com
Or visit our blog at:
http://www.stockmarketgenie.com
The above comments are offered for educational purposes only. We are not providing you with financial advice. We are simply sharing with you what has and hasn't worked for us personally. If you wish to trade or invest in the stock market you should obtain advice from a registered licensed advisor.
whole house cleaning Deerfield ..Every successful trader has a winning system. There are of... Read More
The Shadow knows. Remember him? It seems a shadow has... Read More
Having lived aboard a sailboat for 2 years I was... Read More
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever".... Read More
There has been great condemnation recently because China has been... Read More
Sometimes the best way of lowering exposure to risk is... Read More
When the stock market is going up and all your... Read More
The recent criminal fiasco in the mutual fund industry is... Read More
After finding the price of a particular stock, usually the... Read More
Hello Inflation, it has been awhile, I see you on... Read More
The Surgeon General of the United States says that smoking... Read More
Well, not really. What I mean is I don't mind... Read More
I often hear from people, "I don't trade. I invest.... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show... Read More
There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are growing. Investors are choosing low... Read More
Since I can remember, and that's a long time ago,... Read More
You remember (they show it on TV every year) the... Read More
The following are a list of nine things you want... Read More
Many people would like to diversify their portfolios to expand... Read More
How can you dispel an illusion unless you look directly... Read More
Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late... Read More
Just about now everyone is confused as to which way... Read More
In one of my previous articles (Investing in the stock... Read More
home cleaning services Des Plaines ..I'll bet with almost anyone that has stocks or mutual... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
It is difficult to make money in a bull market,... Read More
Ever turn down a street, get half way and suddenly... Read More
If you're a normal human being, your need to feel... Read More
When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves... Read More
A recent cartoon in my daily newspaper showed two guys... Read More
Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the... Read More
Now where have I heard that before? I know. It... Read More
Have you been listening to the talking heads on CNBC-TV?... Read More
The bear market that showed up at the end of... Read More
When we go to the circus we see a trapeze... Read More
The recent criminal fiasco in the mutual fund industry is... Read More
I know there are a lot of you out there... Read More
Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing... Read More
Very few people, even professionals, have heard of the Dalbar... Read More
Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I... Read More
Every day I hear from the "experts" on CNBC-TV and... Read More
For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics is that a... Read More
"If you don't know where you are going, any road... Read More
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are... Read More
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age.... Read More
If you've ever flipped on the television to CNN Financial... Read More
Carefully thinking through your goal as a trader is of... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |