Thread by @AlphaMind101

A Trading Thread

A theme I meet time again in my coaching work with traders, is the worry people have of what others will think of them.

It is subtle not obvious, and it resides below the level of consciousness. But it has an outsize impact on success & failure. 1/11

This fear of being judged by others , of being made to feel foolish, of feeling ashamed, goes to the very core of our being.

Its roots lie in our need to be accepted by our peers.

In times past, disapproval could mean eviction from the tribe. An effective death sentence. 2/11

Our human operating system hasn’t adapted to a world where this is no longer true. It still feels the need for approval/shame avoidance, as life affirming.

This behaviour controls our actions to a high degree & Fear of failure, of missing out, of being judged results. 3/11

In many cases people do not even have to work with others for this to happen.

In their mind they act as if they are being judged by others, even though others are not there.

How does this play out?

Its biggest output, is that it controls the levers of decision making.
4/11

It holds people back from taking risks, it keep them in a place of safety. It causes them to do things they shouldn’t be doing but ‘in the moment’ makes them feel comfortable.

It creates a false place of safety that all but ensures they don’t succeed.
5/11

That false sense of safety includes the sins of Trading, the trading crimes against one’s self.

Grabbing profits, running losses, not pulling the trigger, taking other people’s trades, undersizing, over-confidence. Etc

See this list;

6/11

On the other hand, what about those who succeed. What is different about them?

I work with some phenomenal traders. Those in that elite group are far less impacted by this need for approval. This means they do the right things more often, and the bad things a little less. 7/11

These people I describe as ‘comfortable in their own skin’. They have far less need for the approval of others. And thus do what they must to succeed far more often.

These people are far more in control of their levers. They are far more able to develop good behaviours
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Good behaviours eventually become habitual. Whilst doing the bad less often, sees bad habits start to die.

Over time this becomes a major edge.

That’s why I now say that with hindsight, “I wish had cared less what others think.”, when I started trading.

9/11

This need for approval from your peers & the need to avoid being judged or feeling ashamed is not easy to abandon. On one level it’s a survival behaviour probably with a genetic root, on another it’s an adaption which probably served us as we matured through our youth.

10/11

But it‘s also something which if too strong can negatively impact trading performance & may sabotage one’s ability to succeed.

Ed Seykota once said everybody gets what they want from the market. I think this may be an example. The market helps them meet their need. 11/11