Trade Aptitude
Trading Lessons from A Road Less Traveled
In this 4-part series we'll explore why traders need more than technical analysis and market strategies—they need emotional resilience.
We’ll use ideas from the bestseller A Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, to find ways how traders can achieve mental discipline, personal growth, and manage their emotions for long-term success in the markets. If you missed yesterday's article you can find it here.
- Delaying Gratification: The Patience to Wait for Profitable Trades
"Delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with." – M. Scott Peck
Many traders struggle with the urge for instant results (especially yours truly). This impatience leads to overtrading, revenge trading, and abandoning strategies prematurely. Peck’s concept of delaying gratification teaches traders to endure short-term discomfort for long-term gains.
Tips:
Trust the Process: Understand that your ultimate success comes over time, not overnight. Winning streaks turn to losing streaks and vice versa. Do you have position sizing rules that help resolve this dilemma? Your rules should have you increasing your size in winning streaks (ideal market conditions) and reducing your size in losing streaks (or maybe even halting your strategy).
Avoid Overtrading: Sometimes, the best trade is no trade. Wait for setups that align with your strategy. Learn the “Disqualifying Mindset.” Have an abundance of setups and work on disqualification.
Manage FOMO: Fear of missing out can lead to bad decisions. Recognize that opportunities are endless in the market. Every minute of the day we’re all missing incredible trades. We just don’t know about them. We only know what our strategy is doing. Think about trading this way: “The market delivers an endless parade of winning trades.” Think forward not backward at the missed winners.
Tomorrow we'll address rational vs emotional trading.
Our trading teams focus on multiple strategies for day trading futures and high-probability candidates for swing trading options. You can learn either or both risk-free. Join us.
To your trading success,
Mike Siewruk
PS: Feel free to forward this invitation to your trading buddies. Share in the wealth!