Many people with various diverse backgrounds come into the market to try and make money every single day. With these traders is an almost limitless array of strategies for finding an edge.
And amid all these different approaches, one thing stands out as the common denominator.
Do you have a guess of what it is yet?
It finally came to me after years of observing the behavior of other traders and even the behavior of myself.
How many traders do you know, that do at least one of the following?
- Have a passion for cooking
- Practice an instrument
- Exercise regularly
- Meditate and exercise mindfulness
- Nurture relationships with friends and family
- Write thousands of lines of code
So what do all these traders have in common? The relentless motivation to do everything they do, to the best of their ability.
All traders have this in common because if they did not have this motivation, they would not be trading at all. We know we have to follow our plan, have a disciplined process and find ways to evolve our edge. Just think of the amount of time you have to spend doing “trading work”. That is the reason you are still around.
This is important if we want to learn why some traders succeed and why some traders fail. If a person comes into the marketplace with an attitude that they will leisurely do the necessary work, that person will fail. If a person comes into the marketplace thinking they will do enough just to get by, that person will also fail. The market is an extremely competitive arena, it takes that unyielding determination to survive and thrive in this field.
Lastly, having these other areas of focus outside the market allows traders to keep their head in the game. Many traders diversify holdings but they should also diversify life. If all of your mental eggs are in the trading basket, what will happen when you face a drawdown? If trading is the only thing you do, it quite literally would seem like the end of the world. But what if you have other concentrations in life outside of markets, activities to distract you, friends and family that make you happy, then that drawdown doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
Thanks for reading and good luck!
Twitter: @TraderTorchia
Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.
