Be Honest With Yourself
Being honest with yourself on the golf course means accepting that you made a bad stroke on that last short putt rather than blaming it on a heel print in the green! Remaining objective will help you improve over time, because you then work on your shortcomings rather than pass the blame on something else. Trading presents us with the same decision: place blame on something else or accept responsibility for our own actions. A bad earnings report might cost you money, but you accepted that responsibility when you held the position into scheduled news. The great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, “Winners and losers are self-determined. But only the winners are willing to admit it.” When evaluating your results, be mature about it! Stay objective and take responsibility. If your system needs more work, then get after it.
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Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
www.TheStockBandit.com
Technorati Tags: Golf, Trading, Trading Psychology, John Wooden, UCLA, Winners
About the Author: Jeff White is the founder of www.TheStockBandit.com, a nightly newsletter for active traders. He has been trading his own account for over a decade and currently trades full time in Texas.
Ned | Jun 15, 2006 | Reply
These are even better than I expected. Nice writing and thinking. When these become a best selling book how about the title: Everything you need to know about stock trading, you can learn on the golf course!
Best,
Ned
livermoresghost | Jun 15, 2006 | Reply
Could you do one on fishing?
Administrator | Jun 15, 2006 | Reply
Thanks for the comments! Unfortunately I’m an awful fisherman, but I did see this funny clip you might enjoy on another trading blog at TaylorTree.com: http://taylortree.com/2006/06/bill-dance-video-funny.html. Might not be many trading applications in there but it is entertaining.
Jeff
Administrator | Jun 15, 2006 | Reply
Thank you Ned! We all probably just need more time in the fairway!
Administrator | Jun 16, 2006 | Reply
Here is a good article about fishing and trading from my friend Charles Kirk: http://www.thekirkreport.com/2006/02/ice_fishing_sto.html.