The toughest questions we can ask ourselves are ones that challenge our most basic assumptions. Here are questions every trader should be asking periodically to ensure that they are not only doing things right, but doing the right things:
* Is trading genuinely adding to the well-being of my life? Is trading providing you with true happiness, fulfillment, energy, and self-esteem? If trading was your romantic relationship, would you want to stay in that relationship?
* What am I giving up in life because of the time and energy I commit to trading? Does trading truly encapsulate your greatest strengths, or is there something else you're meant to be doing with your life: something that could better leverage who you are and what you're capable of doing?
* If I knew that I only had five years to live, would I be spending my time trading? What *would* be your priorities? If trading wouldn't be a priority, why? If you wouldn't spend your time trading if you only had a very limited time on this earth, what does that tell you about how you're living your life today?
As noted in the earlier post, the people who make their living selling education, products, and services to traders and who make their living from the commissions and assets of traders --those people have no vested interest in your asking those questions. If someone wants you to pay for their services as a guru, or as a trading coach, or as a mentor, or as a customer of trading products, they don't have a lot of upside asking customers, "Are you sure trading is the right thing for you?"
And let's face it. When we've invested time and effort into trading and not received commensurate personal and financial reward, it's not so easy to contemplate those questions ourselves.
So the questions go unasked.
Here's a different perspective you may not get elsewhere:
You are important.
The time in your life is important.
You can do amazing things in your life.
The goal is not to trade, and the goal is not to make money. The goal is to have the happiest, most productive, and most purposeful life possible.
There are lots of bright, shiny objects out there that distract us from the meaning and purpose we're meant to fulfill in life. When we ask the right questions, we ensure that we don't stay so preoccupied with feeding our egos that we ultimately lose our souls.
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