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And in the end, it's not the years
in your life that count. It's the
life in your years...
~ Abraham
Lincoln |
Today, I had to admit
a 25-year-old trader to the
hospital. He complained of crushing
substernal chest pain and collapsed
at his trading desk.
He will survive this, most likely.
However, it is pretty clear that he
will never be the same. No one gets
out of this type of situation
unscathed. The trauma will pass, and
the immediate stress will dissipate.
The anxiety and the post-traumatic
stress will be with him for years to
come.
How does something like this happen?
He was overweight and not in good
physical health. Moreover, his
stress level had been gradually
increasing over the past few months
and his trading was suffering a lot.
He was trading badly and started
over-trading and taking larger
positions. He was making larger and
larger "tweaks" to his trading plan,
and there was little or no
discipline in the way he was acting,
both during and after market hours.
This is never a good sign, for a
number of reasons (not the least of
which is the drawdown on financial,
mental, energetic and physical
capital), including a kind of
“revenge-it is” that seemed to be
setting in. You know what I mean: "I
have to do something to get even
with this market for doing this! I
have to get back what I lost."
Again, not good at all. Then, market
volatility of this week became too
much for him, partly because he had
never seen it before, and partly
because he had some large positions
that went heavily against him.
We had been working for one year for
him to start a program to modulate
his involvement with the markets,
and get into a regular exercise
(weights and aerobics) program plus
yoga once a week. In addition, he
had been "trying" for one year to
change his terrible diet, and to
develop a trading plan which allowed
him to enter orders and stops
mechanically so he would not have to
be in sedentary stress all day long
watching the markets. These were all
great ideas. Unfortunately,
procrastination, denial and
rationalization went on too long. He
said he would do these things, made
lists, talked about it, but did
nothing and ended up with a heart
attack.
Life, just as trading, is about
commitment, execution, discipline
and timing.
The best laid plans! It's like the
fallacy of the “great idea.” You
know what I mean? I had someone tell
me a few months ago that she had the
"best ideas ever!" Hmmm. That is
enough to get my attention. So, of
course, I asked her "What about
these ideas? How long have you had
them? How often do you have them?
What do you do with them?”
She looked at me, a bit perplexed
(as if I already should or could
have known the answers) and replied,
"I get an idea, write it down, and
put it in my God box by the front
door. That way, I know that
something will happen. and God will
make one or more (I hope!!) of my
ideas come to reality."
Great! How totally ludicrous is that
anyway? Before you get the wrong
idea, this is not an anti-God piece.
God moves in mysterious and wondrous
ways every waking moment in the
lives of many of us. This is about
the fallacy of the “great idea.”
This is about getting an idea,
putting it on a piece of paper in a
box and leaving it there. This is
about expecting someone else to do
something for you while you are out
doing whatever it is that you do.
Then, one day, you turn on the TV
and there it is---your idea! “Hey,
honey! Look! My idea is on TV, and
they are selling hundreds and
thousands of my idea right now!”
Wait a minute. That is not your
idea. Well, okay; it IS your idea,
but it's still in your God box.
Someone else thought of your ideas
and actually did something about it.
They executed your idea so they are
the ones who are profiting from it.
It's not like you didn't think of
it...you did. However, ideas without
actions are just this: dead,
dormant, lying-in-the-box, plain-
vanilla ideas.
So back to the unfortunate and very
ill trader. He had the ideas to
change his life, but he
procrastinated. For whatever reason,
he could not follow through. Just as
he was over-executing his trades,
getting more and more sloppy and
looking for the really big 30-40
bagger,
he was literally falling apart
inside. He allowed himself to break
his heart. He allowed the drive for
money to get in the way of his life
and health. It ended up putting him
in cardiac intensive care.
I am sending every ounce of healing
energy and prayer I have to him
tonight, and ask you to do the same.
What good are all the ideas, hopes,
dreams and plans you have to get
right with yourself, if you cannot
start right now to do what must be
done? What is really important to
you in your life? What are your
priorities? For what do you want to
be remembered?
Start this instant to be the change
you want to see in yourself. Go to
the mirror and ask yourself: What is
worth dying for?
Insanity is doing the same thing
over and over again and expecting
different results. You and you alone
have the power to take control of
your life, and of your trading. Do
it now, before it becomes just
another idea sitting around in a box
somewhere.
The
secret of health for both mind and
body is not to mourn for the past,
worry about the future, or to
anticipate troubles. The secret is
to live in the present moment wisely
and earnestly.... Buddha
Until Next Time,
Good Trading and Brain On!
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D
www.thetradingdoctor.com
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