Trading superstar Andy Swan takes a Buddhist approach with two excellent recent posts on his blog:
Andy writes:
In trading, investing, entrepreneurship, poker and most other things dealing with money…
Greed and fear are the exact same emotion.
In fact, the only difference between the two is that in GREED, you are obsessed with gaining money that you do not have….while in FEAR, you are obsessed with keeping money that you already have.
The difference between the two is meaningless…because both emotions are caused by the same thing (an obsession with the accumulation of money) and result in the same thing (horrible decisions and an increased likelihood of losing that which you desire).
“Emotion in Trading Must Be Killed”
The best way to take emotion out of trading is to stop caring if you lose and STOP WATCHING your P/L numbers.
You must desensitize yourself to both losing and winning. In the same manner a mugger sprays mace in his own face before bed.
What you see as arrogance in others is not merelyconfidence….but more importantly a callousness to losing/risk.
The greatest warrior is one, who in his own heart, knows he is already dead. 1st Defeat fear . THEN PROCEED with your battles, good sirs!
Get there. I don’t know what it will take for you to get there, but you have to.
p.s. same goes for entrepreneurship and poker….as usual.
After all…..what is the difference between obsessing over the dollar you have and obsessing over the one you want?
Allow neither.
