Am I the only one to notice that New Yorkers like to psycho-analyse one another?
It's like everyone knows a bit about human psychology and how it works and we're not afraid to practice it in everyday life. I feel a lot of it has to do with manipulation - in particular, people trying to outsmart one another through manipulation. So, a lot like trading! I've never mastered manipulation, but I do recognise when I'm being manipulated - part of the reason I didn't really like living in New York. Everyone was playing one another like air piano - or at least trying to.
I've been psycho-analysing myself: my past, my present, and how this could have an impact on my future if I'm not cognizant of the steps I take today - of the mistakes I make, more than anything. This is what happens when one is desperate and doesn't have a life - you end up with a lot of time to think about yourself and your narcissistic tendencies, which apparently is actually self-sabotage in action. I kid you not!
It's evident from my blog that aside from junk bonds, I'm really into self-sabotage. Over the summer, I bought a book called Stop Self-Sabotage by Pat Pearson and I didn't end up picking it up until about three days back. Already, I've learned that I've been doing enough self-sabotage for perhaps an army. So this is what all the one step forward, three steps back in my trading is all about.
I think my problems in trading are more deeply rooted in self-sabotage than anything. I'm quite convinced that anyone else trading similar setups as myself would have no issues profiting. However, I'm looking at my results, my constant couch-jumping, my ATNA (all talk no action), and the light bulb is finally on!
I've got to conquer this issue before I'll ever conquer my trading results. And though I've noticed my self-sabotage before, this time, I really want to change myself, especially since 2010 is just around the corner.
If anyone is in a similar situation, I suggest doing a bit of self-analysis and ascertaining whether it is self-sabotage in action. It most likely is.
Some examples:
1. Throwing It Away... throwing profits away because we feel we don't really deserve it. I've totally done this before. Recall the USD/JPY long I used to blow up my forex trading account with? The loss I took on that trade was exactly my bonus for the year before. It could also take the form of someone who has a retirement account, builds it up to a certain amount, and then ends up plateauing or worse, withdrawing from it.
2. Settling For Less... I don't really believe in my abilities, so I'll settle for less. You've managed to catch a trend, but somehow you end up messing it up by getting out of the trade. BAC, anyone?
3. Resignation... why bother? I know I don't deserve it anyway, so I won't even go after it. This sort of self-sabotage could take the form of someone testing out all different strategies for a few months at a time and then switching to other strategies. The strategy switching basically never stops. Ah hem...
4. Fatal Flaw... Being a perfectionist, narcissist, procrastinator, or angry. There's something in your personality that eventually causes you to turn a winning trade into a losing trade. For instance, you put in a limit order for 1.05111 and prices end up retracing at 1.0505... do you get out now or do you wait for it to hit your limit even though technically, price action is clearly showing there's no further upwards momentum? If this keeps happening, it could be self-sabotage.
5. Denial... If I'm patient enough, this loss will turn around. I guess everyone's been there, done that on this one.
Once I get to reading about the solutions, I'll share here.
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