A Trader's Philosophy: Finding Success in Losing Trades
Everyone enjoys the occasionally profitable trade. Some of us enjoy it so much, that we actually look forward--towards only winning. We believe that our success as a trader is pending on every trades outcome. That is, if we don't have a good trade, we consider ourselves a bad trader: unsuccessful. But I challenge those who feel this way to find success in losing trades. It can be done, and it must be done.
Some of you may be asking yourselves what finding success in losing trades means. It simply means that a losing trade is not always a bad thing, it can be turned into a positive; particularly: a learning experience. And every veteran will tell you that experience is key. But what if there was a way to accelerate this process of gaining experience. What if we could cut through all the nonsense and start trading with greater success. There is a way, and it is very simple. We simply must learn from our mistakes (our losing trades). If we are willing to learn from our mistakes, or our bad trades, we should hopefully not make the same mistake again.
Einstein once said that there are only two things infinite: the universe, and human stupidity. Having quoted the genius, it is absolutely mathematically possible that there is a finite amount of mistakes a trader can make. Similarly, there is a finite amount of bad moves, or mistakes, that a chess player can mathematically make by moving the pieces on the game board. A trader also has a limited amount of mistakes that he/she can make, and by all means, the number is not infinite. Knowing this fact, a trader can then start to eliminate these mistakes as they occur. Each mistake a trader makes, must be corrected, and the trader must ensure that the same mistake does not occur.
After a while, and after enough mistakes have been made, a trader may begin to see success. This is only true if a trader has truly learned from his mistakes: has gained experience--wisdom.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Einstein. Relating Einstein's quote to trading: a trader must not make the same mistake over and over, expecting different results (good trades, or winning trades) because that is insanity. A good trader learns from his mistakes, so that they never happen again. Which limits the number of possible bad moves that he can make upon entering the next trade, which translates into a greater chance for success because he is nearing perfection. The quest for perfection is an ongoing quest, for if we were perfect: we would be inhuman. Imperfection defines humanity. Don't let your imperfection, your mistakes dishearten your attempts at perfection. Simply know that we all make mistakes.
I conclude by leaving the following two quotes of Einstein's for your own thought:
"Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it." Albert Einstein.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein.
Everyone enjoys the occasionally profitable trade. Some of us enjoy it so much, that we actually look forward--towards only winning. We believe that our success as a trader is pending on every trades outcome. That is, if we don't have a good trade, we consider ourselves a bad trader: unsuccessful. But I challenge those who feel this way to find success in losing trades. It can be done, and it must be done.
Some of you may be asking yourselves what finding success in losing trades means. It simply means that a losing trade is not always a bad thing, it can be turned into a positive; particularly: a learning experience. And every veteran will tell you that experience is key. But what if there was a way to accelerate this process of gaining experience. What if we could cut through all the nonsense and start trading with greater success. There is a way, and it is very simple. We simply must learn from our mistakes (our losing trades). If we are willing to learn from our mistakes, or our bad trades, we should hopefully not make the same mistake again.
Einstein once said that there are only two things infinite: the universe, and human stupidity. Having quoted the genius, it is absolutely mathematically possible that there is a finite amount of mistakes a trader can make. Similarly, there is a finite amount of bad moves, or mistakes, that a chess player can mathematically make by moving the pieces on the game board. A trader also has a limited amount of mistakes that he/she can make, and by all means, the number is not infinite. Knowing this fact, a trader can then start to eliminate these mistakes as they occur. Each mistake a trader makes, must be corrected, and the trader must ensure that the same mistake does not occur.
After a while, and after enough mistakes have been made, a trader may begin to see success. This is only true if a trader has truly learned from his mistakes: has gained experience--wisdom.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Einstein. Relating Einstein's quote to trading: a trader must not make the same mistake over and over, expecting different results (good trades, or winning trades) because that is insanity. A good trader learns from his mistakes, so that they never happen again. Which limits the number of possible bad moves that he can make upon entering the next trade, which translates into a greater chance for success because he is nearing perfection. The quest for perfection is an ongoing quest, for if we were perfect: we would be inhuman. Imperfection defines humanity. Don't let your imperfection, your mistakes dishearten your attempts at perfection. Simply know that we all make mistakes.
I conclude by leaving the following two quotes of Einstein's for your own thought:
"Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it." Albert Einstein.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein.
Keep it simple stupid