Info!! Social Networking Too Trading Success

I showtime amongst a few basic premises:

* I accept something to offering selected, others inwards the trading world;

* Selected others accept something to offering me;

* I don't know who those others are, simply I tin post away respect out.

So every week, I acquire inwards a signal to "cold call" at to the lowest degree 1 trader or manufacture professional person who seems to endure a kindred spirit.

* Half of all my contacts are non returned;

* Half of the contacts returned consequence inwards polite give thank y'all yous as well as cypher more;

* Half of the remaining contacts consequence inwards pleasant social contact as well as cypher more;

* Half of the pleasant social contacts peter out afterward a brusque while;

* The remaining (roughly 1 inwards sixteen) contacts essay to endure highly mutually fulfilling.

So every year, I add together on average 3 professional person soulmates to my network, equally they add together me to theirs. We larn from each other as well as farther each other's work; nosotros cash inwards one's chips on each other going during tough times as well as are at that spot cheering on the sidelines during times of victory.

With xv out of 16 contacts ultimately "failing", y'all could say that I'm non really proficient at networking.

With a network that grows twelvemonth over year, y'all could say that I'm a raving success.

Both are true.

It's the "failed" outreaches that Pb to the successes.

How like to trading: You accept to lose to win. And y'all accept to encompass the losses to respect the victories.

Related Post: How to Lose Money the Right Way

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Info!! Trading Psychology Challenges - 2: Perfectionism

In the Enhancing Trader Performance book, I position a powerful obstruction to developing successful trading strategies: perfectionism.  "Perfectionism clearly plays a business office inwards preventing us from cultivating superior strategies," I wrote.  "In a real of import sense, perfectionistic traders are non seeking to brand money.  They are trying to non lose money.  Their intolerance of loss keeps them moving from method to method inwards search of a certainty that markets cannot provide." (p.157).

The phrase hither is apt: *intolerance* of loss.  The perfectionist is non seeking self-improvement.  The perfectionist is intolerant of anything that falls curt of ideal.  This sets the phase for self-blame as well as frustration.  While it powerfulness await similar a shield of high standards that protects us, inwards fact that shield burdens us, weighing downward our performance.

A review of one's trading mag oft reveals when perfectionism is a problem.  Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 trader powerfulness lead hold identified a skillful idea, placed a merchandise at a skillful level, as well as taken profits at a target, only to run into the merchandise become farther inwards his or her direction.  The mag entry volition focus on what the trader *should* lead hold done (holding the merchandise longer) rather than what the trader did well.  The "should" is non grounded inwards whatever tested rule; that same trader volition hold out as self-blaming over a merchandise that is initially profitable but reverses when he or she holds for a farther target!  Such perfectionism is hindsight bias at its worst.  

Note how such perfectionism turns a winning merchandise into a psychological loss past times exclusively focusing on shortcomings.  It is non constructive, because it does non do concrete learning lessons.  It is frustration channeled as self-blame.  As such, it robs us of the fulfillment nosotros otherwise would experience subsequently a skillful merchandise as well as leaves us feeling diminished.  Over time, such self-blame takes a cost on our liberate energy as well as outlook, contributing to the work of burnout.

How many of your mag entries as well as how much of your review fourth dimension are spent on what you lot did wrong?  To what grade do you lot acquire from your successes as well as reinforce your best practices?  If you lot are parenting a immature child, you lot would role positive reinforcement, non merely punishment, to learn the right behaviors.  As a trader, you lot are ever a immature child, ever developing, ever learning.  You desire to hold out as constructive amongst yourself as you lot would hold out for a immature lady or boy you lot love.

Perfectionism wears people down.  Perfectionism tears people down.  We desire to channel frustration toward learning as well as improvement, non toward self-blame.  We desire to straight our anger toward our work patterns, non toward ourselves.  That is a real of import distinction.

So what tin compass the axe nosotros do almost perfectionism?  Three strategies stand upwards out:

1)  Restructuring Our Reviews:  By giving ourselves realistic written report cards, grading each expanse of our trading process, nosotros tin compass the axe readily position what we're doing good as well as what we're doing that needs improvement.  We desire to become frontward amongst positive goals--building on our successes--as good as remediation goals, correcting our weaknesses.  Every review should position strengths as well as improvements as well as should atomic number 82 to goals of continuing to do what is working.  Every review should too focus on constructive steps nosotros conception to accept to improve our shortcomings.  The focus of the review is on improvement, non blame.  We focus on getting better, non beingness perfect.

2)  Cognitive Strategies - The cognitive strategies described inwards cognitive journals--we let ourselves to stand upwards exterior our perfectionistic patterns.  In short, when nosotros adopt a cognitive perspective, nosotros plow rigid, negative thinking into the enemy.  That allows us to coach ourselves inwards an empowering way, non inwards a agency that demoralizes us.

3)  Behavioral Strategies - Very often, perfectionism is triggered past times frustration.  Of course of teaching it's frustrating to accept off a merchandise only to run into it become much farther inwards our direction.  That frustration shows upwards as physiological tension, which inwards plow cues the negative thought patterns.  One of the greatest insights I came to as a trader was the recognition that my pathetic trading was only state-dependent.  When inwards the fight-or-flight mode, I was much to a greater extent than probable to miss what was happening right inwards front end of me as well as impose my ain needs onto markets.  Behavioral strategies let us to delineate dorsum from trading screens as well as alter the dry soil we're in, becoming to a greater extent than calm as well as focused--and much to a greater extent than able to recruit corporation coping skills.

Sometimes negative, perfectionistic thinking is pervasive, occurring across life domains, non merely during trading.  If that is the case, it's worth consulting amongst a psychologist as well as developing a structured conception for changing those patterns.  It's too worth ruling out depression as an underlying problem, as the depressed dry soil tin compass the axe atomic number 82 to chronically negative thought patterns.  As I emphasized inwards the postal service on diagnosing our trading problems, it's ever a alert sign when patterns disrupting our trading are too disrupting other areas of life.  That's when nosotros desire to motion beyond coaching as well as acquire concerted professional person help for overlearned patterns.

We volition never hold out perfect as traders.  That's what keeps us ever-learning, ever-growing.  Our challenge is to role our shortcomings as inspirations, fueling continued improvement.

Further Reading:  How to Separate Frustration From Your Trading

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Info!! Trading Psychology: The Best Of 2009 - Book Two

Well, here's the best trading psychology posts from during the mo quarter of 2009. Here's a hold off at the commencement quarter's gems; come across equally good the "best of" posts from 2006, 2007, too 2008, equally good equally posts devoted to trading indicators too methods. To the best of my knowledge, this is the largest collection of trading too marketplace position psychology data on the Web. To date, it has generated over 4,000,000 visits too close twice that position out of page views. Thanks to readers for their continued interest.

* We Gravitate Toward Our Self-Talk

* Changing Psychological Patterns inwards Real Time

* Secondary Anxiety too Trading Performance

* Gaining Self-Control When You're on Tilt

* How Body Can Control Mind

* Questions to Prepare for the Trading Day

* Trading Scared too Scarred

* Getting Unstuck From Procrastination; equally good come across Overcoming Procrastination

* One Secret to Life Success

* Biofeedback for Traders

* Handling Trading's Mood Swings

* The Pillars of Well-Being

* Building Your Internal Observer

* Reasoning, Preparation, too Trading Success

* The Right Way to Lose Money

* Questions to Start Your Trading Day; equally good come across Questions to End Your Trading Day; too come across Six Questions for the End of the Day

* Playing to Your Trading Strengths

* Training the Will

* Coping With Trading Stresses

* Focusing on Your Trading Solutions

* Pitfalls Faced yesteryear Developing Traders

* Social Cognition too Trading: Part One too Part Two

* The Psychology of Leverage

* The Importance of Capitalization inwards Trading; equally good come across Capitalization too Trading Success

* Psychological Energy too Life Success; equally good come across Laws of Psychological Energy

* Managing Trading Risk

* Trading Lessons From Ted Williams

* The Ability to Not Trade

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Info!! Trading Together With Marketplace Psychology: The Best Of 2008 - Book Four

Here is the concluding installment of the best trading together with marketplace psychology posts from the past times year, amongst this grouping coming from the concluding quarter of 2008. I get got archived links to the commencement 3 quarters, besides equally the top posts from 2007 together with the best of 2006. Happy reading!

Trading the Way You Want to Trade

The Financial Panic of 2008

The Need to live on Right vs. the Need to Make Money

Finding Opportunity inwards Crisis

Two Common Trading Problems

Breaking Problem Cycles inwards Trading

Five Positive Trading Behaviors

Neuroeconomics together with Trading

Learning How to Trade

When to Cut Your Size

Learning to Lose

Learning past times Reviewing

Training Traders for Success

A Cognitive View of Trader Performance

Staying Cool inwards Hot Trading

Creativity together with Trading; Conflict together with Creativity inwards Trading

Stress together with Trading Performance

Three Common Trading Mistakes

Setting Effective Trading Goals

Turning Goals into Habits

Constructing together with Interpreting Cumulative Adjusted TICK

Can I Trade for a Living?

Finding Successful Traders; Five Qualities of Successful New Traders

Trading With a Plan

Implicit Learning together with Trading Performance; Implicit Learning together with Self-Regulation

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Info!! Stop-Loss Points Inwards Trading: Produce Nosotros Quest Stops When Nosotros Trade?

Henry Carstens How to Lose Money the Right Way

The Psychological Importance of Risk Management