“Trading is the hardest easy money you can make.”
This is something Andrew realized early on in his own trading.
Success in trading is closely tied to how well we tolerate discomfort in various forms including FOMO, accepting a loss, missing out, managing a winning trade, position sizing, etc. When we trade, we tend to believe we’re mostly focusing on what we see on the screen – patterns, levels, math, and perhaps our P&L. But what happens in the heat of the moment?
In the critical moments of execution, our own personal needs often dominate over our plan or strategy. For example, the need to be right, the need to feel good enough, our sense of self-worth, the need to be seen as good enough in the eyes of others are just a few examples.
Whether it’s about entering, exiting, sizing, etc, at those crucial moments of execution, that’s the moment when something else takes hold. In that moment, we’re trading our own Inner Market (IM). Similar to the market we see on the screen, our Inner Market (IM) has its own support and resistance; its own personal supply and demand dynamics.
The advice of “plan the trade and trade the plan” is well meaning, but woefully inadequate. As Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.
Our performance is not so much about our plan or our strategy, it’s much more about how we execute. Executing our plan or strategy is a function of how we respond to uncertainty, risk, and opportunity. The cold hard truth in trading is that success is much more about execution than strategy. Many traders have a strategy with an edge but are unable to execute it.
When a trader recognizes the gap between strategy and execution, they often focus on things that don’t address the performance gap. They “redo” their plan. They change strategies. They try to follow someone else. And when the performance gap becomes even more obvious, perhaps they read some psychology books, blogs; attend a webinar, use affirmations or put post-it notes on their desk telling themselves what to do. But the performance gap continues.
When an elite athlete recognizes they have a performance issue, they address the issue directly, most often with a performance coach.
Many traders get close to success, but never quite make the turn, instead repeating a boom & bust cycle in their trading.
From his own experience in trading chronicled in the book, “How The Worlds Most Successful Traders Make Their Living In The Market”, and working with top performers, Andrew has learned what it takes to succeed and maintain success in trading.
The ball is in your court, what will you do? Options include coaching, Andrew’s Self-Paced Course, follow Andrew on twitter @Andrew_Menaker where he frequently posts helpful tips, and sign up to receive Andrew’s free biweekly email newsletter with key psychological insights and tips.