ou soon. And like clockwork, the neighbor will ask how it panned out. You have one of two options at that point: tell the truth, or lie. You could lie to the neighbor and say the trade went fine. However, even though the neighbor may not know any better, the damage to our own ego is still a reality. How? Being forced to deceive also forces us to acknowledge that we may have inferior skills. Instead of just accepting a losing positioRegardless of your current experience level in trading, everyone had to start at the beginning. I think that the emotions starting out were pretty much identical for all traders early in their development. And since then, hopefully each trade has gotten easier as your confidence has grown. That is what a learning curve is. There are two basis concepts that should help any trader as he moves forward and continues to grow. First, master the internal ego. And second, defend the external ego.

The first idea is that you must recognize what is keeping you from taking your trading success to the next level. The vast majority of the time, it is probably your ego get in the your way of your self-education. This is not the arrogant or over-confident type of ego. Instead, it is more along the lines of a defensive, protective ego - the "I do not need any help" ego. The problem is that kind of self-shielding ego is what prevents real learning. Think about this, we are all human, and being human, we do not want to admit that we are wrong about our trades sometimes. The ego wants to uphold an ideal version of us that allows for only successes and not failures. Your goal should be to trade without ego, or without personal judgment of your self worth. Trading is a business, and the businessmen who do the best at it are the ones who treat as such. It is not a reflection of them personally.

What does it mean to defend the external ego? While the amateur trader will often tell friends, neighbors, and total strangers about trades he may have entered, it is all too often a setup for disaster. Call it whatever Law if you want, but one of the 'sure-fire' trades you just entered and told your neighbor about will turn against you soon. And like clockwork, the neighbor will ask how it panned out. You have one of two options at that point: tell the truth, or lie. You could lie to the neighbor and say the trade went fine. However, even though the neighbor may not know any better, the damage to our own ego is still a reality. How? Being forced to deceive also forces us to acknowledge that we may have inferior skills. Instead of just accepting a losing position

ter the internal ego. And second, defend the external ego.

The first idea is that you must recognize what is keeping you from taking your trading success to the next level. The vast majority of the time, it is probably your ego get in the your way of your self-education. This is not the arrogant or over-confident type of ego. Instead, it is more along the lines of a defensive, protective ego - the "I do not need any help" ego. The problem is that kind of self-shielding ego is what prevents real learning. Think about this, we are all human, and being human, we do not want to admit that we are wrong about our trades sometimes. The ego wants to uphold an ideal version of us that allows for only successes and not failures. Your goal should be to trade without ego, or without personal judgment of your self worth. Trading is a business, and the businessmen who do the best at it are the ones who treat as such. It is not a reflection of them personally.

What does it mean to defend the external ego? While the amateur trader will often tell friends, neighbors, and total strangers about trades he may have entered, it is all too often a setup for disaster. Call it whatever Law if you want, but one of the 'sure-fire' trades you just entered and told your neighbor about will turn against you soon. And like clockwork, the neighbor will ask how it panned out. You have one of two options at that point: tell the truth, or lie. You could lie to the neighbor and say the trade went fine. However, even though the neighbor may not know any better, the damage to our own ego is still a reality. How? Being forced to deceive also forces us to acknowledge that we may have inferior skills. Instead of just accepting a losing positio

The problem is that kind of self-shielding ego is what prevents real learning. Think about this, we are all human, and being human, we do not want to admit that we are wrong about our trades sometimes. The ego wants to uphold an ideal version of us that allows for only successes and not failures. Your goal should be to trade without ego, or without personal judgment of your self worth. Trading is a business, and the businessmen who do the best at it are the ones who treat as such. It is not a reflection of them personally.

What does it mean to defend the external ego? While the amateur trader will often tell friends, neighbors, and total strangers about trades he may have entered, it is all too often a setup for disaster. Call it whatever Law if you want, but one of the 'sure-fire' trades you just entered and told your neighbor about will turn against you soon. And like clockwork, the neighbor will ask how it panned out. You have one of two options at that point: tell the truth, or lie. You could lie to the neighbor and say the trade went fine. However, even though the neighbor may not know any better, the damage to our own ego is still a reality. How? Being forced to deceive also forces us to acknowledge that we may have inferior skills. Instead of just accepting a losing positio

do the best at it are the ones who treat as such. It is not a reflection of them personally.

What does it mean to defend the external ego? While the amateur trader will often tell friends, neighbors, and total strangers about trades he may have entered, it is all too often a setup for disaster. Call it whatever Law if you want, but one of the 'sure-fire' trades you just entered and told your neighbor about will turn against you soon. And like clockwork, the neighbor will ask how it panned out. You have one of two options at that point: tell the truth, or lie. You could lie to the neighbor and say the trade went fine. However, even though the neighbor may not know any better, the damage to our own ego is still a reality. How? Being forced to deceive also forces us to acknowledge that we may have inferior skills. Instead of just accepting a losing positio

ou soon. And like clockwork, the neighbor will ask how it panned out. You have one of two options at that point: tell the truth, or lie. You could lie to the neighbor and say the trade went fine. However, even though the neighbor may not know any better, the damage to our own ego is still a reality. How? Being forced to deceive also forces us to acknowledge that we may have inferior skills. Instead of just accepting a losing position, we are forced to conceal the trade to protect other's perception of us. The irony is that the lie can cause even more damage to our confidence than just accepting the loss. Speaking psychologically, our subconscious minds can rationalize some incredible stuff that does not necessarily have to be true, so do not give it an opportunity to rationalize your decision to stop trading. You are better off not saying anything than saying something you know to be untrue.

So the bottom line is that the more you can move toward treating your trading as strictly a business and not have emotions get in the way, the better trader you will become. There is no reason that you cannot be excited about good trades, but never let that excitement get out of hand. Keep focused on the goal of being the best trader that you can be.