Managing Oneself
By Lawrence
I received quite a number of emails lately from young adults, who are aspiring in becoming professional traders, seeking for advice. Most of them are looking for pointers on what books to read, what courses to take and what trading related knowledge they have to acquire. I asked quite a number of questions about themselves and interestingly, what they need is not knowledge building, at least not yet. What they need is changing their worldview first.
If there were one common element among all the successful traders, it is their resiliency that carry them through tough times. This mental toughness is a requirement for pretty much all kinds of success in many careers, not just professional trading. Since most of us are not prepared correctly by the regular education system, and that majority of us coming from various backgrounds are not born with strong resiliency personality trait, it is not a surprise that many people fail to realize their potential in building any kind of success in the field they have chosen.
The lack of resiliency in a person can be changed through training. There are many books and classes out there teaching techniques and practices to improve our resiliency. I can write about that all day but the most important thing is to realize that building our character first is more efficient than focusing on knowledge acquisition. At one extreme, as an example, with a twisted mindset, the worldview can be so problematic that all the domain specific knowledge acquired will be hardwired the wrong way and not functional when needed.
As I wrote before specifically for traders, we are the most important component in our trading business. It is not an edge for a specific market that matters in the long run. It is our ability to adapt and survive the changes that matters most. And that requires strong resiliency.
Some related articles and videos for those interested in trading and improving your mental strength:
Tai Chi Traders in a World of Chaos
Why Traders Fail To Follow Profitable Mechanical Systems
