Emotions Traders Don't Talk About

 

6/1/2026 - We've heard it all a million times:  fear, greed, frustration, etc.  But there are many emotions that traders experience and don't talk about that are equally important to performance.  One of those is boredom.  There are times in markets when not much is happening.  Volume is low, volatility is low, and there are no news and world event catalysts driving price trends.  So we're sitting in front of the screens, and sitting, and sitting...with not much to do.  

I submit that what drives a great deal of overtrading is not FOMO and greed, but boredom.  Many traders crave action and action without an edge can feel better than no action at all.  The really good traders know how to utilize their time productively when not much is going on in markets.  They might scan stocks and markets that *are* moving for possible trading opportunities.  They might step back and look at what's happening on longer time frames for possible ideas.  They might develop strategies for trading quiet markets, such as options strategies that profit from decay and mean reversion.  

The really good traders utilize the boring times in markets productively.  They are stimulated by ideas and opportunity and enjoy searching and re-searching for ways to exploit a variety of market conditions.  Because they're stimulated by ideas and the search/research process, they don't need to be trading to relieve boredom.  

And when markets aren't open?  The bored trader doesn't bother with closed markets because there's nothing to trade.  The successful trader, who is stimulated by the hunt for opportunity, is vitally engaged in the market when nothing is trading.  

Loving to trade is very different from loving the process of understanding markets.  If you need to trade to stay engaged in markets, you'll inevitably overtrade.