The Better Man, The Better Trader

Over 3 years have flown by since I started trading – just a small part of the last 15 years I devoted to finding myself.

Except for a compulsory 2 years’ stint in the military, no job or vocation had penetrated me  with as much depth. Trading had been a highly personal interaction not only with the market, but always with the “Self”.

In early years, my friend told me, ” to be a good trader, you have to be a good person”.  There are many types of traders – from the high rollers, to the conservatives, from the carefree larks to the paranoid, from amateurs to professionals, from investors to pure scalpers.  All of them  have  their own definitions of  what a “good person” is.

So my good person is / has – emotional self balance, correctly prioritized living and trust (God, family, Neighbours) – these are the foundations for reliable emotional  management, constructive self correction or encouragement, lack of greed, placement of hope in the right entity, lack of fear, being able  to recover from bad outcomes and rejoice with good outcomes, being able to contribute to those around me and benefit from their support, being able to see more clearly with less prejudices.  What about trading ability ? I am totally zilch on this – I depend on reading the market as accurately as I can  – always being certain I will be wrong, right or unsure sometimes.  I depend on my trading system – edge, money management,  trade management and clarity of processes.  Truth is, there is nothing much I can do about the trading methodology.

Trading helps me see the different angles of myself.  The journey is sometimes painful, sometimes joyous.   Questioning, understanding, forgiving, accepting and being generous to one self. As the self is being built and cleansed, one is better  able to connect with others on an equal footing with right attitudes, irritation and temperance.  God has taught me in many ways, and trading is a gifted opportunity to profit from knowing myself better.

What trading cannot change is a person’s values – if a person is racist,  dishonest, discriminating, hypocritical,  believes in good triumph over evil and so forth.  Rather, trading will help him improve himself so he can pursue his values and balance better.

Regardless if you agree with me – consider at least one thing – it should not be that profits and losses determine self worth – it is the act of trading well that illuminates and enhances self worth. I am not sure you see the point, I hope you do.