Wednesday, May 06, 2020

Cultivating a Mindset of Plenty

A trader recently wrote to me about missing a couple of trading opportunities on the day.  He shrugged those off, found fresh opportunity, and finished with a nicely profitable, low stress day.

How did that happen?

It's no coincidence that this trader looks at an unusual number of stocks and instruments to trade during the day.  He also scans across multiple time frames and programs multiple alerts.  This means he has a vastly expanded opportunity set relative to other traders:  he's mining in more locations and thus is more likely to strike gold.

But there is an important psychological component to this.  Because he has studied so many markets and time frames and opportunities, he comes to trading in a mindset of plenty.  His framework is one of abundance, not scarcity.

If you have a very scarce opportunity set, any missed opportunity is a threat and a source of potential great frustration.

If you have an immense opportunity set, any missed opportunity is no big deal.

In other words, the best thing for your trading psychology is a highly diverse playbook.  There is little reason for frustration and tilt trading if fresh opportunity is around the corner.  When you have multiple ways of making money, you can enter any set of market conditions with a constructive mindset. 

What's your outlook on trading?  On life?  One of abundance and plenty, or one of scarcity?  It doesn't matter how large your account size is:  you'll be happier in a full cabin than an empty castle.

Further Reading:

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