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The Mastery Of Self
We do everything for a reason. The reason behind any act
is, for the most part, unconscious. If we want to change a
behaviour we need to identify the reason, the underlying objective,
and examine it. We need to examine it to determine whether
this objective, this assumption, supports us in what we want
to do now.
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Most of the beliefs, or rules, that govern our behaviour
now, were formed in early childhood. They have become predominantly
unconscious beliefs and their effect is to dictate the way
we respond. Most of these beliefs continue to support us well,
but some have long outgrown their value.
My baby son Arthur, does not yet know that touching a hot
stove is painful. At some point he will burn himself and he
will start to form a set of beliefs about hot things that
will, by governing his behaviour, protect him from getting
burnt. He won't necessarily remember these early experiences
with heat, but his new beliefs will continue to guide him
for the rest of his life.
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When it comes to trading, most of what we have learnt to
date and the beliefs that we have formed about success are
inappropriate.
When we are trading we need to be:
· Quick to cut a loss
· Flexible to the ever-changing flow of information
· Take the lead from the market rather than try to
control it
· Comfortable with uncertainty and risk
What are we taught about success?
· Not to be a quitter
· To be decisive, not fickle
· To take charge/control
· To dictate
· To stamp out uncertainty
It is not difficult to see that what we believe about success
in all other areas of life will work against us as traders.
Lets look at some particular behaviours in trading.
Not cutting losses, what is the likely thinking that would
result in this behaviour?
· Losing is bad (If I lose then I am a loser)
· Being wrong is bad (we all learn this at school!)
· To take charge/control
· I want to be right all the time i.e. perfectionist
· And snatching profits:
Fear of losing what we have (losing is bad again)
Need to feel good (I am not good enough)
Ultimately I thing we struggle as traders because we want
and need to feel good about ourselves and we are looking to
the market for this affirmation. We are reluctant to take
a loss because we think a loss is bad and that it underlines
our fear that we are bad (a loser). We snatch profits because
we are desperate for information that supports the idea that
we are good.
If I have an unshakeable belief that I am good, then I would
not look to the market for approval; we only look for something
we think we don't have. To resolve this problem we need to
simultaneously work on and build the belief that we are already
perfect and we need to shift our neediness away from the market
and seek affirmation from another source.
Malcolm Robinson
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Learn How To Trade The Futures Markets
http://www.surefiretrading.com
Good Trading
Best Regards
Mark McRae
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