Stocks & Commodities V. 30:12 (82, 80-81): At The Close: Mastering Your Emotions by Rande Howell, MEd

At The Close: Mastering Your Emotions by Rande Howell, MEd

In trading, the gap between performance and consistent profitability persists. What is the hard-working, aspiring trader missing in his or her quest to become successful?

ven after years of study and dedication, most traders find consistent profitability elusive. They see others who are using similar trading systems and methods who are successful, so they know it is possible. They assume that it is just a matter of finding the problem and fixing it. Born of a strong work ethic and their focus on solving this problem, traders work harder, jump to new methodologies, new systems, new trading gurus, new markets, or the next big thing that promises success. Still, the gap between performance and consistent profitability persists. Although they may be committed to succeeding, what is the aspiring trader missing?

BEING BLIND TO WHAT YOU ARE BLIND TO

The trader’s problem is hidden in plain sight, but his myopic vision does not allow him to see the forest because of the trees. Traders have an unspoken assumption that a solution to their trading performance problems is out there. And when they find it, they will find the success they have been searching for. This bias blinds the trader from evaluating the problem from another point of view.

The truth is that there is a glaring hole in the way traders develop their skills, embedded in how a trader learns to trade — a hole that blocks most traders from breaking through to consistent profitability.

As the traders are developing their skills so they have a proven edge in their trading, they neglect personal development. Without developing the trading mind, the traders’ methodology is hobbled by an emotionally rooted mind built to predict certainty from pattern recognition, not to manage the probability that is necessary for successful trading.