Mind Games of a Trader: Is Getting It Right More Important Than Making Money?

I thought about writing on a topic that I find of great importance. Mind Games of a Trader: Is Getting It Right More Important Than Making Money?. It is something that most traders usually discover later in their careers, after some skin in the game. Understanding and embracing this concept early on can lead to a less turbulent path toward mastery. The question I will try to answer is: Is the urge to be right more important than making money?

Mind Games of a Trader: Evolutionary Instincts and Trading

There are many aspects of investments and trading that go against our evolutionary instincts. We evolved through the principle of natural selection, which implies that a higher percentage of wiser choices leads to better survival success. This principle extends to our lives today.

A series of right choices generally leads to greatness over time. A higher percentage of right opinions among friends results in greater acceptance and relevance. Individuals who ‘get it right’ tend to gain more publicity and recognition. This trend is evident in finance, where public figures often express numerous opinions. However, it’s the ones who consistently ‘get it right’ that usually stand out.

So, it’s natural for someone to think that being consistently right is crucial. The urge to be right has a stronger gravity than anything else. “I need to be right so I can show the world that I am relevant and of great importance.” But is being consistently right truly important in trading?

Mind Games of a Trader: The Reality of Being Right in Trading

The simple answer is no. Having a higher percentage of right choices does not necessarily result in making money. And having a higher percentage of wrong choices does not necessarily result in losing money. Making money should be the one and only goal. But for many, the urge of ‘being right’ and the rewarding feeling they get when they are right outweighs their process of making money.

You may find me writing a lot about one’s ‘self-transformation’ in trading. This might have a mystical sense, but it goes for all the things that go against the societal structures’ ‘status quo’ that a trader must fully embrace towards the path of mastery. These are things that challenge the common beliefs we grew up with long before discovering trading.

Mind Games of a Trader: Embracing Being Wrong

Many traders have had great success being right only 20%-30% of the time because when they are right, they make it big, and when wrong, they lose small. That is a path I follow as well. Now, does being wrong 70% of the time feel good? Definitely not. Does it truly matter in making money? Again, definitely not.

Constantly hunting for that dopamine ‘fix’ you get from being right might make you lose the forest for the trees. I can’t think of a single day in my trading career that I haven’t felt even a little bit frustrated. Because every day the market has its ways of making you feel stupid. There is always a better, wiser choice or series of actions out there every single time. Not getting it right does not feel good. That is a reason why many traders quit. They can’t handle the unsettling feeling of not being optimal, the unsettling feeling of not being right. The reason traders stay in the game and find success? They fully embrace that unsettling feeling and try to channel it.

Mind Games of a Trader: The Key to Survival and Success

Your only way of survival and success is to say: “You can fool me all you want, Market, but when I FOOL YOU back, I will make it big.” You can’t avoid getting humbled by the market; you can’t avoid getting it wrong.

The next time you open up a trade, think of the true reason why you chose trading. Did you choose trading to make money or to feel rewarded for being right? The real essence of being here is to make money despite all circumstances, even if the circumstances are meant to crash your ‘ego’, your opinions, and actions every single day. That is how this game is played. So instead of fighting it, just vibe with it. Only when you accept the rules of the game can you embrace those unsettling feelings. Only when you embrace those unsettling feelings will you be able to self-transform, and only when you transform can you get closer to mastery. Because sometimes mastery and exceptional performance require you to build in and operate into ‘failure.’