SELF CONTROL & DISCIPLINE
“To the destructive element submit yourself.”
J. Conrad
Successful trading is 80% psychological and 20% methodical. As I have already said,self-knowledge is the key to market success. A trading method by itself, no matter how well thought out, cannot be successful if it is not applied in the correct manner. It is in the application of a trading method that many traders end up losing. Consider the analogy of a high performance-racing car. No matter how aerodynamic or technically advanced, it needs to be driven. An advanced piece of engineering such as racing car needs to be driven by a person who can drive it with care. Just as a disciplined driver is needed to race a car, a disciplined trader is needed to apply a trading method. All traders have heard the word “discipline”, but few really understand what it is and why it is so important to develop it.
EMOTIONS AT WORK
“When dealing with people, let us remember that we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bursting with prejudices and motivated by price and vanity.”
Dale Carnegie
Intelligence, knowledge and talent have to be applied. Any person who is successful knows that application requires discipline, self-control and confidence in one’s abilities. Bjorn Borg was a great tennis player, he had talent. However, what always gave him the edge when playing was his mental control, which earned him the nickname “Iceman”. He combined talent and discipline to achieve his success and you must do the same.
We are all put in situations where, after they have occurred, we look back and feel that if only our emotional control had been better. You are going for a job interview and role-play Th a friend beforehand. You come over as assertive and confident. In the interview itself, however, the confidence goes. You practise a best man’s speech, it flows well and sounds great; however, on the day, delivery suffers as you feel nervous and shy.
All the above we can associate with. The fact of the matter is, when the pressure is on, our actions are influenced by our emotions. The more important the scenarios, the greater the influence will be.
Trading is no different. As soon as money is committed, logic can go out of the window and basic emotions take over. Consider the difference between paper trading and trading real time. Whilst paper trading, you earn very good profits, you are confident and optimistic. You see a very lucrative business opportunity, so you now decide to open an account and trade for real.
On studying of charts you see an opportunity, a perfect double bottom and prices low in historical terms, now is the time to buy. You ring your broker to place the trade; however, the overwhelming confidence of paper trading has now deserted you. Perhaps you had better double-check the formation. After much deliberation you decide to phone the broker and the trade enters the market. For the next two days prices rise dramatically, your profits grow; you feel great, what an easy way to make a living. The next day prices drop and your profits are cut in half. You feel uncertain; perhaps you should take the profit now before it gets away. You decide to wait. The next day prices fall further and close below your mental stop loss. Your system is telling you that you should be cut. However, you only have a small loss and it should turn around and you will soon be back in profit. The next day, to your horror, prices have collapsed and the majority of your equity is now lost. Your reaction is now one of anger, why didn't you bank the profit when you had it! The market’s move is totally illogical, you feel anger,pain and frustration, you are now totally disillusioned and fed up, and all you want to do is exit the trade.