I had a great weekend. Mrs. Snap and I embarked on a cycling journey around Lopez Island, one of the beautiful islands in the San Juan archipelago, here in the great Pacific Northwest. The Tour de Lopez is an annual cycling event where up to 800 (their max) riders can peddle around the island and see the sites on either 10, 17, or 31 mile rides. So what does all of this have to do with trading? Let me give you some background to set the stage...
I haven't been on my bike since some time in the summer of last year. Between moving, work, and winter I just haven't made the extra effort to ride. I do walk to work, so I'm not totally out of shape; but let's just say I'm not exactly at my peak (not making eye contact). Mrs. Snap, on the other hand, works out regularly and decided that we needed to do the 31 mile route in order not to miss any of the great local points of interest. That's where it all started.
At the 17 mile cut-off I was actually feeling pretty good, so I thought the 31 mile route was sounding okay. Somewhere around mile 25 I remembered how out of shape I was. I'm not sure if my quads or my lungs were burning more. It was on the next hill that I muttered to my wife that this is where the ride became more mental than physical. There is nothing I could do to escape the pain I was feeling; so I simply had to decide to endure it or walk.
I'm proud to report that we made it through the entire ride, including every last hill, but not without some serious grit and determination. I'm pretty sure that I could have convinced myself to give in to the pain if I wasn't thinking a bit below the surface. By acknowledging the mental battle going on one can make a clear choice about which direction to go. Moving forward becomes a choice, rather than just a response.
As I have gained more experience as a trader I've learned that this is the toughest battle the trader fights... the mental one. Read Market Wizards or New Market Wizards or any other trading book that describes what the pros do. You'll find that learning a winning system is the easiest part of successful trading. The hard part is learning and developing the discipline to execute it perfectly. Acknowledging this challenge is significant. As traders, we need to understand just how tough it is and make choices every day to trade well. Frequently I get caught up in winning vs. losing; but I remind myself that trading well is what counts... winning over the long haul stems from that.
Good Trading...
What a lovely metaphor for trading!! It's nice to get a mention. BTW...I happen to think you are in great shape, and it was your "grit and determination" that spurred me on. Surely, there must be a lesson-learned in the additional 6 or so miles we did not anticipate, but embraced and completed as part of the quest.
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