V.13:5: (227-229): Promising The Result by Ari Kiev, M.D.

Promising The Result by Ari Kiev, M.D.

Overcome psychological impediments to your trading. This psychiatrist discusses how to maximize trading performance by committing to specific financial results.

The greatest resistance I run into when working with traders concerns commitment to specific financial objectives. Most traders seem to prefer pursuing vague goals such as "doing the best possible." Like most people, traders are reluctant to commit themselves to an uncertain future without guarantees. It takes a while, if ever, for them to see that promising the future will raise their level of performance by setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy that will help them overcome internal fears and inhibitions. It is the best way to teach traders to keep asking themselves what else is needed to produce the desired result rather than accept poor results as the inevitable reflection of personal weakness. Think of the most successful master traders that you know. Invariably, you'll find that one of the critical keys to their performance is a willingness to promise the outcome before they take action and then do whatever it takes to produce the promised result. This takes accountability, responsibility and a willingness to deal with reality, despite the naturally occurring thoughts that encourage withdrawal and retreat.