I have 17 favorites on my blog list that focuses on Trading & Investing. Most reside there permanently: Bankrobber, Points and Figures, Alphatrends, Tickerville, SMB Trading Blog, Stocktwits, Traderfeed, & PopDocTrader, to name many of them. Others, I shuffle in and out. Recently, I added a new one to the list called TraderHabits http://traderhabits.com/ . I began reading it today. The following post from January 20th struck me as very important, considering my work to look inside myself for the answers to making a living as a trader.
http://traderhabits.com/not-failing-worse-than-failing/
Not failing is worse than failing.
Written on January 20, 2012 by Eli Radke in Uncategorized Some types of failures are good. If I continue to have the opportunity to fail than I am doing something right. But there is good failure and bad failure. Good failure is giving everything you have and it just not being enough. Bad failure is not getting to that launch point.
I go out of my way to help anyone I can. Two things happen. They either take the initiative or they don’t. Those that don’t, believe the end point is the contact. Those that take complete advantage understand that the end point is their goal.
Failing is not easy, but failing with action is something that can have a very positive impact. It burns a bridge that needed to go anyways. Failing without action will create a bad habit, steal your time, and it will suck the energy right out of you. The reason they fail without action is because they do not have to accept that they were not good enough or they didn’t know or are unwilling to do what it is necessary.
The other day, was in a meeting with a marketing firm. They hate the name E-mini Executors, the name of our trading group. Nothing is more fun than having to hear for 2 hours that your name sucks. So I explained to them the difference between failing in those ways that I described above. We do not believe that every person can be a successful trader. What every person can do is get to the point where they can honestly say that they gave it their all. That they understand how to accomplish their goals and how to get the tools to do so. The next step is to execute it.
Do I think most people get to that point in trading, no? What I do know is that there are less people that fail at that point than before getting to that point. Trading or anything related to performance is about execution. That is why two people trading the same “system” or from the same background will have dramatically different results. One can execute better. A successful traders knows that the goal is not to have a trading account but to be profitable or that getting money means nothing without being able to keep. To be profitable you have to get to the point where it is just about execution. Everything before, during, and after a trade is taken care. Being alone with your execution is key.
Trying to explain to a marketing company that you are purposely trying to eliminate part of the market specifically by your name is a foreign concept to them. That we do not want people who would rather read a book about trading than be a trader. So after explaining this for a couple hours, I think they got it. But that does not mean they agreed at all. (Would like your feedback on the name if you have a moment.)
Sorry if this post seemed liked a big commercial. This blog isn’t about promoting our business, it is about getting the things out of my head and giving back and ensuring that there is a community of traders in the future. (I could have included a link to the website and I did not have to post this on a Friday.) We will get your money between the bells. At the same time, what I believe in and what I do are completely aligned. I don’t believe in it because I do it. I do it because I believe in it. We started this because the marketplace was filled with people whom we felt were not trying to make people better traders and expand the community of traders. The trading floors are dying and there are limited places where you can legitimately learn. We have a vested interest in seeing the futures market grow.
I have failed without taking action. As much as I hate to admit it, my football career ended in that way. There was also a girl in junior high. Those failures were hard but once I recovered they provided me with an invaluable lesson. If it is worth doing, it is worth putting your best effort out there.
We would really appreciate your feedback, if you like, hate, or think we are full of crap. Please leave a comment, a voice mail (312) 725-9121, email info @ traderhabits (dot) com
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Trading is mental
Having read and re-read Michael Martin's "The Inner Voice of Trading" over the past month, I am finding some relief when it comes to the self awareness necessary to be a successful trader.
I have taken to spending quiet time reflecting on the WHY that compels me to make bad trading decisions and where they truly originate. I reinstituted exercise into my day by walking about two to two and a half miles per day back in early November and moved to the treadmill in the cellar after the Maine winter arrived. With bad knees, I can no longer run, so I stick to walking and it gives me time to relax and think about the WHY. I've thrown in some strength training over the past two weeks and I feel better for it. Mostly, I am in this for mental dialysis and exercise second. Thirdly, my ability to stick to the regimen will reflect whether or not I have achieved the same discipline necessary to stick to proper trading fundamentals. Mrs. Bluecollar bought me two relaxation CD's that encorporate breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, positive affirmations, and calming music. I play them while I use the treadmill and am now in my second day of it. It is true that anxiety, stress, and fear are near the top of the list of reasons for trader failure.
As part of this whole thing, I am digging deep into my past and evaluating my life and the influence of those with whom I've encountered and the impressions that were left on me as a result.
I have also picked out some articles from Dr Andrew Menaker's blog at his website as part of my quest to become a trader: http://www.andrewmenaker.com/
I hope you get something from this one from March 29, 2011 entitled "Handling Uncertainty."
Handling Uncertainty
March 29th, 2011
Everyone talks about uncertainty, and many of you realize that the only thing that is certain in trading is uncertainty. The problem is that most people understand it on an intellectual level (“yeah, I think in probabilities”), but in reality, where the rubber meets the road, most traders don’t really accept uncertainty.
How do you know when you’ve truly accepted uncertainty? You’ll know, when you’ve embraced the randomness of probability (each trade or individual data point is a unique occurrence with a 50/50 chance, even in a skewed probability distribution). When you begin to truly embrace uncertainty you’ll notice one of or more of the following also occur; you won’t be thinking or worrying about it as much, you won’t be doing as much ‘mental P&L accounting’; and the symptoms of tick-itis will also remit.
I coach clients to not be attached to the outcome as one particular strategy to deal with uncertainty. And the good news is that when you begin to truly embrace uncertainty you also begin to create a positive feedback loop where realizing that its not worth being emotionally attached to any one trade, or even a series of trades; making it even easier to embrace the uncertainty. Non-attachment to outcomes helps one deal with uncertainty, and embracing uncertainty reinforces non-attachment to outcomes. That’s how it works, folks.
Think about this question for a moment:
When you put money in a slot machine and you lose, how do you feel? Most people don’t feel that bad. But when you bet your money on a trade and you lose, how do you feel? Most traders say they feel upset, angry, frustrated, ripped-off, even betrayed (betrayed by the market, betrayed by their method, or betrayed by the person who taught them the method).
So, what’s the difference between the slot machine and trading? In slots, there is no judgment or ego involved (the need to be right is greatly diminished). However, in trading it is 100% judgment (you might be ‘wrong’). In a trade, our ego, our judgment, our sense of self-worth and even our personal status in the eyes of others (e.g. trading partners, family, etc.) is susceptible to feeling assaulted for each tick away from our intended target. But in slots we become a robot. Go to a casino and walk by the slot machines; everyone is glazed over, practically in a hypnotic state as they automatically (brainlessly as my wife puts it) dump more coins into the machine, pressing the lever and not getting very upset for lack of a pay-out. No judgment is on the line, there is no possibility of being wrong….the slot player recognizes the situation for what it is, pure unadulterated randomness.
Trading is not random, but you must fully accept, beyond intellectual understanding, the randomness of probability.
I have taken to spending quiet time reflecting on the WHY that compels me to make bad trading decisions and where they truly originate. I reinstituted exercise into my day by walking about two to two and a half miles per day back in early November and moved to the treadmill in the cellar after the Maine winter arrived. With bad knees, I can no longer run, so I stick to walking and it gives me time to relax and think about the WHY. I've thrown in some strength training over the past two weeks and I feel better for it. Mostly, I am in this for mental dialysis and exercise second. Thirdly, my ability to stick to the regimen will reflect whether or not I have achieved the same discipline necessary to stick to proper trading fundamentals. Mrs. Bluecollar bought me two relaxation CD's that encorporate breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, positive affirmations, and calming music. I play them while I use the treadmill and am now in my second day of it. It is true that anxiety, stress, and fear are near the top of the list of reasons for trader failure.
As part of this whole thing, I am digging deep into my past and evaluating my life and the influence of those with whom I've encountered and the impressions that were left on me as a result.
I have also picked out some articles from Dr Andrew Menaker's blog at his website as part of my quest to become a trader: http://www.andrewmenaker.com/
I hope you get something from this one from March 29, 2011 entitled "Handling Uncertainty."
Handling Uncertainty
March 29th, 2011
Everyone talks about uncertainty, and many of you realize that the only thing that is certain in trading is uncertainty. The problem is that most people understand it on an intellectual level (“yeah, I think in probabilities”), but in reality, where the rubber meets the road, most traders don’t really accept uncertainty.
How do you know when you’ve truly accepted uncertainty? You’ll know, when you’ve embraced the randomness of probability (each trade or individual data point is a unique occurrence with a 50/50 chance, even in a skewed probability distribution). When you begin to truly embrace uncertainty you’ll notice one of or more of the following also occur; you won’t be thinking or worrying about it as much, you won’t be doing as much ‘mental P&L accounting’; and the symptoms of tick-itis will also remit.
I coach clients to not be attached to the outcome as one particular strategy to deal with uncertainty. And the good news is that when you begin to truly embrace uncertainty you also begin to create a positive feedback loop where realizing that its not worth being emotionally attached to any one trade, or even a series of trades; making it even easier to embrace the uncertainty. Non-attachment to outcomes helps one deal with uncertainty, and embracing uncertainty reinforces non-attachment to outcomes. That’s how it works, folks.
Think about this question for a moment:
When you put money in a slot machine and you lose, how do you feel? Most people don’t feel that bad. But when you bet your money on a trade and you lose, how do you feel? Most traders say they feel upset, angry, frustrated, ripped-off, even betrayed (betrayed by the market, betrayed by their method, or betrayed by the person who taught them the method).
So, what’s the difference between the slot machine and trading? In slots, there is no judgment or ego involved (the need to be right is greatly diminished). However, in trading it is 100% judgment (you might be ‘wrong’). In a trade, our ego, our judgment, our sense of self-worth and even our personal status in the eyes of others (e.g. trading partners, family, etc.) is susceptible to feeling assaulted for each tick away from our intended target. But in slots we become a robot. Go to a casino and walk by the slot machines; everyone is glazed over, practically in a hypnotic state as they automatically (brainlessly as my wife puts it) dump more coins into the machine, pressing the lever and not getting very upset for lack of a pay-out. No judgment is on the line, there is no possibility of being wrong….the slot player recognizes the situation for what it is, pure unadulterated randomness.
Trading is not random, but you must fully accept, beyond intellectual understanding, the randomness of probability.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Again with shorts unavailable
Today is the irst time since the last writing that TNA has been not readily available for shorting. I have no idea, as stated before, what this means. The market and TNA specifically have climbed since the week it was not readily available to short, so certainly it wasn't an indicator that a drop was imminent.
It is unusual, in my experience... if anyone who is reading would like to speculate, please feel free.
It is unusual, in my experience... if anyone who is reading would like to speculate, please feel free.
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