Achieving Self-esteem

Joe Ross

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The single most important component of the personality related to personal achievement is self-esteem. Self-esteem is simply how much an individual likes himself and correlates to high achievement on a one-to-one basis. The more an individual likes himself the higher levels of performance he can achieve in any area of his life. Traders should always have at least one physical or mental activity every week that helps them feel good about themselves, like chess or golf. After a trader takes a loss or makes a mistake, he should consider going to a mirror looking himself in the eye and repeating the phrase, “I like myself,” with intensity, at least five times. This should boost the trader's self-esteem despite his losses, assuming he committed no trading system discipline violations.

To reach high performance and personal achievement, understanding the three components of the self-concept is beneficial. The Ideal Self is a mental picture of the trader a person would like to become, a composite of the all positive qualities admired in other traders. Schwager's “Market Wizards” is filled with these admirable characters with their winning personalities. The Self Image is the inner mirror of the person a trader thinks he really is, and relates how he interacts with others on a day-today basis. A person seldom reaches levels of achievement beyond his self-image limitations. The Self-Esteem is how much a person likes himself. The more a person likes himself the higher levels of achievement are possible. These three components of the personality are always changing every moment. The self-aware trader shapes these personality components to compliment his goal achieving efforts to profitably trade the markets.
 
The single most important component of the personality related to personal achievement is self-esteem. Self-esteem is simply how much an individual likes himself and correlates to high achievement on a one-to-one basis. The more an individual likes himself the higher levels of performance he can achieve in any area of his life. Traders should always have at least one physical or mental activity every week that helps them feel good about themselves, like chess or golf. After a trader takes a loss or makes a mistake, he should consider going to a mirror looking himself in the eye and repeating the phrase, “I like myself,” with intensity, at least five times. This should boost the trader's self-esteem despite his losses, assuming he committed no trading system discipline violations.

To reach high performance and personal achievement, understanding the three components of the self-concept is beneficial. The Ideal Self is a mental picture of the trader a person would like to become, a composite of the all positive qualities admired in other traders. Schwager's “Market Wizards” is filled with these admirable characters with their winning personalities. The Self Image is the inner mirror of the person a trader thinks he really is, and relates how he interacts with others on a day-today basis. A person seldom reaches levels of achievement beyond his self-image limitations. The Self-Esteem is how much a person likes himself. The more a person likes himself the higher levels of achievement are possible. These three components of the personality are always changing every moment. The self-aware trader shapes these personality components to compliment his goal achieving efforts to profitably trade the markets.

A very good post. I also recommend having a voice recorder by your trading desk. Whenever you make a winning trade you should record what you saw and what you did and especially the positive results and listen to them later and until it sinks in!! You should also do this if you just missed a winning trade or if you make winning paper trades using your methodology. IMO: Constant positive reinforcement of both your ability and your methodology is crucial.
 
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interesting post - self-esteem. it really is important because if you dont have selfesteem you dont have the needed trust in yourself for trading. anyway i completely agree with you. good luck
 
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