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.
maid service near Lake Forest ..Checked your 401K lately? Going back to about a year... Read More
For the last few weeks we have seen the stock... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
Suppose your position has made a big move and you... Read More
There are formulas for just about everything, but it has... Read More
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More
Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in... Read More
Day trading is all about making buy and sell decisions.... Read More
Do you have a nest egg? You know, a place... Read More
I was recently interviewed for a press release through a... Read More
Index Fund Trading can be one of the most profitable...or... Read More
Maximizing a stock market investmentThere are several factors an investor... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
No, this is not a symbol for some Latin number.... Read More
Most people think the stock market is a zero sum... Read More
There are many important things you need to know to... Read More
I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show... Read More
From the book 'The Stockopoly Plan' by the author Charles... Read More
If you are going to be a winner in the... Read More
The spring-loaded rat catcher is the ultimate low-tech device invented... Read More
If you go to Haiti or other places in the... Read More
I am taking the time to help others learn the... Read More
Ever turn down a street, get half way and suddenly... Read More
In November of 2000 when the NASDAQ was trading at... Read More
The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More
top rated cleaning service Des Plaines ..Did you run out to buy that duct tape yet?... Read More
This is an extract of an article which was first... Read More
Last time we looked at the real performance of the... Read More
Investing in long-term financial vehicles give you the most gains... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics is that a... Read More
After finding the price of a particular stock, usually the... Read More
Because you don't feel too sure about which stock or... Read More
Every day in any financial publication you will find the... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
For some "long term" would mean holding a stock position... Read More
One of the things people are always asking me is... Read More
A 'stock option' is a contract between two parties giving... Read More
There is a current movie entitled "Eternal Sunshine of the... Read More
A few years back ? it seems like an eternity... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
A stock market index is a statistical measure of changes... Read More
Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can... Read More
Everything you invest in has risk so you want to... Read More
Intervention. Now don't let that big word scare you. The... Read More
It is difficult to make money in a bull market,... Read More
Is really not as important as to how you invest... Read More
Every successful trader has a winning system. There are of... Read More
All of the talking heads have been telling us that... Read More
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a... Read More
Alfred Winslow Jones started hedge funds in 1949. He was... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |