Angry Traders
“If trading (or any other job or endeavor) is a source of anxiety, fear, frustration, depression, or anger, something is wrong—even if you are successful in a conventional sense.” – Jack D. Schwager
Anger is a powerful emotion that we can use to safeguard our safety and boundaries. Anger serves as our internal protector, keeping us safe in a variety of situations. When faced with a suitable adversary or intruder, anger can motivate us to take appropriate action to make amends and protect our own interests. But when anger is directed wrongly toward imaginary opponents, it becomes an unhelpful weapon. A trader has problems that require assistance if they genuinely think that the market is conspiring against them or that high frequency traders and market makers are the ones intentionally making them lose money. The market as a whole does not exist, and the market does not even know that we exist. The current price of the stock market represents the outcome of all concurrent buyers and sellers' actions, and it is a composite of those judgments. The price movement is the result of all the traders, investors, market makers, hedge fund managers, mutual fund managers, and high frequency traders fighting it out.
It is entirely up to each trader to attempt and fill their own bucket from that swift-moving river of pricing. Traders are free to determine the size of their trades and the timing of their entry and exits; they are not compelled to purchase or sell. It really is the best free market in the world. After making a choice, you either receive praise or criticism depending on how well it turned out. There's no reason to be upset. High frequency traders have minimal influence over you if you are a low frequency trader. You should not worry too much about day traders if you are a swing trader. If you're following the trend, you've overcome most of the noise in the market and are simply following the greater flow of money. As a trader, the less likely you are to become enraged at the market, the more you can control your aggravation.
A trader may have self-righteous anger as a result of their own conduct. Angry internal self-destruction is a highly harmful behavior. Only by choosing the correct course of action for your next move can you advance. Angry self-turning is extremely self-destructive. This is a risk that goes beyond just losing money; you can recover from financial losses, but you cannot recover from being so furious with yourself that you attack yourself or, worse, vent your inner resentment on your loved ones. The greatest method to control rage, which is typically just a side effect of stress, is to trade modest enough that you do not burden yourself with excessive tension. Another way to deal with rage is to accept that there is no "Market" or some hostile force trying to get you. There is no goal to strive for, therefore we cannot be upset with the market. Just as we do, every other player risks everything and stakes their own money. We compete with them for the money, and if they prevail and we don't, we must learn from our mistakes and try again.
The main reason we overtrade in an attempt to manipulate the market to give us money is anger. When price action obstructs a trader's objective, anger can result. Trading out of rage and a desperate attempt to get the market to return money that was previously lost is known as revenge trading. One of the worst trading signals available to traders is anger. A trading plan can act as a trader's bodyguard, shielding them from irrational trades that they believe are not a valid buy signal. Exchange the strategy, not the rage.
Understanding acceptance, perspective, and what our anger is trying to protect our boundaries from can help us control our anger. We need to identify our adversary. Is our rage deserved by reality, or are we merely losing our sense of perspective? What is the most productive way for us to control our anger? Is our rage warranted, or is it just a delusion? Will the way we choose to respond to our anger move us toward or away from our objectives?
Anger is a natural feeling that all people experience. Finding the gaps between our ideas and fury is what is important in order to allow reason and logic to emerge and save us from pursuing ghosts with an angry spiral into self-destruction. Wealthy traders are adept at controlling their emotions, so they are able to respond to rage when it comes out.
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