Good read. I've thought this way occasionally. Stick to the plan, trade the plan and nothing else.
I'd like to believe that I'm a relatively smart fellow. After all, I graduated from the local state university with a 2.03 GPA after failing out once and dropping out another time. I spent the majority of my professional life in compliance, but before that, I was an investment adviser who only dealt in passive, diversified asset-class based mutual fund investing.
It was slow and boring, but it worked. Really well. I not only did really well for our clients, but also my own money. It was simple, BUY WHEN YOU HAD MONEY and SELL WHEN YOU NEEDED MONEY. Don't sweat the small details, we're properly diversified to minimize risk (which worked) and we'll catch the ups, of which there are always many.
I used that system for decades, including the first 3 years of our retirement. But it wasn't enough; oh no, I had to get cute. I learned how to trade derivatives; at first it was just simple calls and puts, then exotic spreads. I learned how to trade just simple calls and puts, then exotic spreads. I learned how to trade futures (not exactly difficult) and started placing bigger and bigger bets because, eh, we had plenty of money and I could afford to lose some, no problem.
As the last 6 years went by, I became more and more confident in my ever-changing trading system(s) with options and futures, despite the fact that there was only 1 year where I turned a profit (+$450k selling call spreads in 2015). Every other year, there was always some excuse.
"Oh well, if I hadn't lost that $350k on toothless cattle futures,we'd have made money." Or, "if we had just not taken the $600k loss we'd have made money." Or, "if we had just not taken the $600k loss after the election, we had a pretty good year!"
Dumb stuff like that.
Friends and family all warned me, I better get out of trading before I blow it all. "I won't," I assured them, "I'm not that stupid."
I was sure of it. And I was wrong.
-------
He turns into a defeatist and I don't think that need apply, but I understand why he is a defeatist.
I'd like to believe that I'm a relatively smart fellow. After all, I graduated from the local state university with a 2.03 GPA after failing out once and dropping out another time. I spent the majority of my professional life in compliance, but before that, I was an investment adviser who only dealt in passive, diversified asset-class based mutual fund investing.
It was slow and boring, but it worked. Really well. I not only did really well for our clients, but also my own money. It was simple, BUY WHEN YOU HAD MONEY and SELL WHEN YOU NEEDED MONEY. Don't sweat the small details, we're properly diversified to minimize risk (which worked) and we'll catch the ups, of which there are always many.
I used that system for decades, including the first 3 years of our retirement. But it wasn't enough; oh no, I had to get cute. I learned how to trade derivatives; at first it was just simple calls and puts, then exotic spreads. I learned how to trade just simple calls and puts, then exotic spreads. I learned how to trade futures (not exactly difficult) and started placing bigger and bigger bets because, eh, we had plenty of money and I could afford to lose some, no problem.
As the last 6 years went by, I became more and more confident in my ever-changing trading system(s) with options and futures, despite the fact that there was only 1 year where I turned a profit (+$450k selling call spreads in 2015). Every other year, there was always some excuse.
"Oh well, if I hadn't lost that $350k on toothless cattle futures,we'd have made money." Or, "if we had just not taken the $600k loss we'd have made money." Or, "if we had just not taken the $600k loss after the election, we had a pretty good year!"
Dumb stuff like that.
Friends and family all warned me, I better get out of trading before I blow it all. "I won't," I assured them, "I'm not that stupid."
I was sure of it. And I was wrong.
-------
He turns into a defeatist and I don't think that need apply, but I understand why he is a defeatist.
2