The purpose of this thread is two-fold.
1. To share what I have learned from trading FX in the same spirit as those who have taught me about markets and life. If you are willing to listen, this is for you.
2. To gather feedback, especially constructive and critical feedback, on my ideas, concepts, thoughts, hypotheses, whatever I post here. I like disagreement and I think I need to hear more of it to get my trading growing in various directions.
As a side objective I am also hoping to improve my writing and become clearer with how I express ideas. So if you think I am unclear, please let me know and I will try to rephrase so that you can understand.
***
The posts here will be of no particular order. I will pop in ideas on my mind or new insights I experience from trading. Eventually I might compile everything into a neat Table of Contents for easy reference.
FF might not be the best platform for this but I do hope for discussion and I do hope the wide audience means that more can use this as inspiration or simply food for thought on their own journeys in the world of FX trading.
***
The ego dilemma and the nature of impermanence.
I must first admit that I am still a developing trader and still failing on many fronts. But I have experienced success to some degree and although I do attribute a significant proportion of it to luck, I think there definitely is some skill involved and it is a game that one can get better at over time. Of course we have to believe this don't we? But believing it at an intellectual level is not enough. One has to really experience it. For years I have felt stuck and helpless because no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to work. Still, at times over the years I would feel that I have "made it" or have finally cracked the code of the market only to have the market prove me wrong. The market has a way of teaching us things.
So I am really afraid to come here and type these things. Afraid because history has shown that it is easy for ego to get in the way. Whenever we put our reputation and ego on the line, we suddenly have more to lose and it becomes a lot harder to make changes or to admit that our positions or methodology is wrong. Being aware of this doesn't make it easier to avoid the ego trap. It is psychological. Our psychology does not follow logic.
The very nature of markets make things worse for the egoistic trader. Impermanence. That's the way of the world and that's how the markets are. Price is always moving; market structures are always developing and changing; systems are always evolving. Nothing stays the same for long. The humility to admit one is wrong and that one can never beat the market is what is required to stay on top of this game. We can never beat the market; we can only beat other traders playing the same game.
So why am I still here and doing this? Sounds incredibly cheesy but I followed my heart and intuition. I think there is a lot of good in all of us and that there is a lot we can share about our experiences and through cultivating a win-win situation and environment everyone can benefit. Sure, only a handful can win at this game at the financial/monetary dimension, but that just means I need to keep improving and getting better, and not by clinging on to what I know. On the personal growth and spiritual dimensions, I think trading has the potential to benefit more than just a handful of people. If you give your best and don't make it as one of the top of the field, I don't think the journey has been a waste. The lessons you gleam from this can be applied in so many other things. But do not use that as an excuse not to succeed. Try as hard as you can to succeed, while fully understanding that the journey and the change it brings you is what truly matters in the long run.
So let me end of this short post with a cautious reminder to myself and all: we are all learning and the only thing we can do is to try to be better today than yesterday. My views and ideas are only as valid as my experience and experience is something that I have that some of you reading do not. Hopefully you will find some of my experiences and lessons I have drawn from them valuable to your own journey.
1. To share what I have learned from trading FX in the same spirit as those who have taught me about markets and life. If you are willing to listen, this is for you.
2. To gather feedback, especially constructive and critical feedback, on my ideas, concepts, thoughts, hypotheses, whatever I post here. I like disagreement and I think I need to hear more of it to get my trading growing in various directions.
As a side objective I am also hoping to improve my writing and become clearer with how I express ideas. So if you think I am unclear, please let me know and I will try to rephrase so that you can understand.
***
The posts here will be of no particular order. I will pop in ideas on my mind or new insights I experience from trading. Eventually I might compile everything into a neat Table of Contents for easy reference.
FF might not be the best platform for this but I do hope for discussion and I do hope the wide audience means that more can use this as inspiration or simply food for thought on their own journeys in the world of FX trading.
***
The ego dilemma and the nature of impermanence.
I must first admit that I am still a developing trader and still failing on many fronts. But I have experienced success to some degree and although I do attribute a significant proportion of it to luck, I think there definitely is some skill involved and it is a game that one can get better at over time. Of course we have to believe this don't we? But believing it at an intellectual level is not enough. One has to really experience it. For years I have felt stuck and helpless because no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to work. Still, at times over the years I would feel that I have "made it" or have finally cracked the code of the market only to have the market prove me wrong. The market has a way of teaching us things.
So I am really afraid to come here and type these things. Afraid because history has shown that it is easy for ego to get in the way. Whenever we put our reputation and ego on the line, we suddenly have more to lose and it becomes a lot harder to make changes or to admit that our positions or methodology is wrong. Being aware of this doesn't make it easier to avoid the ego trap. It is psychological. Our psychology does not follow logic.
The very nature of markets make things worse for the egoistic trader. Impermanence. That's the way of the world and that's how the markets are. Price is always moving; market structures are always developing and changing; systems are always evolving. Nothing stays the same for long. The humility to admit one is wrong and that one can never beat the market is what is required to stay on top of this game. We can never beat the market; we can only beat other traders playing the same game.
So why am I still here and doing this? Sounds incredibly cheesy but I followed my heart and intuition. I think there is a lot of good in all of us and that there is a lot we can share about our experiences and through cultivating a win-win situation and environment everyone can benefit. Sure, only a handful can win at this game at the financial/monetary dimension, but that just means I need to keep improving and getting better, and not by clinging on to what I know. On the personal growth and spiritual dimensions, I think trading has the potential to benefit more than just a handful of people. If you give your best and don't make it as one of the top of the field, I don't think the journey has been a waste. The lessons you gleam from this can be applied in so many other things. But do not use that as an excuse not to succeed. Try as hard as you can to succeed, while fully understanding that the journey and the change it brings you is what truly matters in the long run.
So let me end of this short post with a cautious reminder to myself and all: we are all learning and the only thing we can do is to try to be better today than yesterday. My views and ideas are only as valid as my experience and experience is something that I have that some of you reading do not. Hopefully you will find some of my experiences and lessons I have drawn from them valuable to your own journey.
Build good relationships with others.