I don't get many comments but I got one the other day which I found insulting. On reflection, I decided it might not be deliberately snide and I replied politely. It did get me thinking that if it was a genuine reaction then this reader had completely missed the point and so maybe the point wasn't as obvious as I thought.
The aim of this diary is to show the day to day reality of trading, using my own experience as an example.
I've worked with lots of other traders and managed some too and I think that the ups and downs I have are pretty representative. You would never know this from reading the average trading book. Most that I've read, even the good ones, paint an unrealistic picture of what it takes to trade for a living. The author will show nice set ups which develop in text book fashion and explain how you ride the trend and then get off at some optimum point.
Trading is easy in principle. You find a method and a time frame that suits you. You trade appropriate size to your budget, you cut your losses short and run your profits. Most people of average intelligence can, if they're interested, understand technical trading with little difficulty.
Equally, most people know what it takes to be fit and healthy. Eat well, exercise regularly, avoid stressful situations. Unless you are unlucky with illness or accidents there is very little reason to be unfit and the vast majority of people want to be in good shape and yet....
The really challenging part of trading is the psychological element. As soon as you put on a position or form an opinion you become invested in it and the human tendency is to listen to information that supports your view and ignore that which doesn't. The ideal is to think statistically, ie I have no idea whether this pattern will work this time but in the long run doing such trades will be profitable.
I've been doing this work for a long time and I still work on these issues. I have periods where I flow with the market, lose my ego and make a lot of money and others when it's a battle to stick to my disciplines.
I've been willing to honestly show this struggle through the trading diary, primarily to help myself but also to help others.
I don't particularly enjoy the experience - or appreciate it being pointed out! - but nevertheless I'm quite aware that I'm going to look stupid quite often. I also know that if you can't cope with being wrong you will never trade successfully. I was re-reading Van Tharp's excellent book, "Trade your way to financial freedom", and the first page I opened to was headed by a quote from Robert Kiyosaki, "Avoiding mistakes makes people stupid and having to be right makes you obsolete".
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