Why Do People Trade?

started well finished badly

chrisw said:
Freedom and money is what it all comes down to IMHO.

The freedom to earn money at my own pace at times that suit me and to give me the freedom to revolve 'my job' around my life rather than my life around 'my job'.

As to whether you fully understand the whats, whys and hows of the underlying reasons for movements or any of the pyschology behind it, or if you use 'a system', if your trying to earn a living, nd you are from the way you trade, then what does it really matter how you get from A to B?

Unless you are trying to prove something...


first part is good .

second is more suspect . if you want to be successful you have to ' understand the whys and wherefores ' of you trading . this is an absolute must , knowing what exactly are your ' system ' components are crucial . it will help you analyse things when they go wrong and believe me , at sometime they will .

allied to that it will also be crucial when you need to improvise to suit changing market conditions.

gut feel can only take you so far .
 
After 2 years full time,I like my freedom,which has always been integral to my life-I haven't done a 'job' since about 1971. As for iTunes- I am not often tempted to listen to music these days-it's all too familiar,and the new stuff is all too predictable..................... don't get me started!
 
Re

Why do people trade?
It depends on which sub personality is in charge of their Trading.If you identify which one then you can answer the question.
If any of your subpersonalties is in charge of your trading then you could be trading for many reasons.
Until you can disengage these subpersonalities and create a new trading sub personality then maybe you shouldn't be trading.
It took me a long time to discover this truth.
The only reason i trade now is that i need some money.
 
Wisest guy,

Think I went slightly off topic in the second part and you may have misunderstood my point.

I couldn't agree more in that you need to know the whats, why's and hows of how YOU trade. If you don't have an understanding of your own methods or system you are heading downhill.

My point is that you don't neccesarily need to have an immense understanding of the market and the herd, as long as you have a method of trading that works, what does it matter whether its through deeper knowledge or indicators that do it all for you?
 
CJIA said:
Why do people trade?
It depends on which sub personality is in charge of their Trading.If you identify which one then you can answer the question.
If any of your subpersonalties is in charge of your trading then you could be trading for many reasons.
Until you can disengage these subpersonalities and create a new trading sub personality then maybe you shouldn't be trading.
It took me a long time to discover this truth.
The only reason i trade now is that i need some money.
Don't for the goodness sake tell them this. The don't want to hear it. And when they hear it they don't listen to it. It does not go in. There is no point in persisting. It cannot and will not go in and stay there.

You are better off talking to mountains, at least occasionally you will find one that gives you an echo. I advise you not to attempt to attempt what I attempted. Of course I have given up and now turn my attention to liquids that can be made to run uphill and defy gravity and stay at the top of the hill and not run down again.

You will become unpopular if you dish out the truth, as this contradicts the fiercly defended beliefs of many people. Musn't do it, let them get on with it.

Kind Regards.
 
chrisw said:
Wisest guy,

Think I went slightly off topic in the second part and you may have misunderstood my point.

I couldn't agree more in that you need to know the whats, why's and hows of how YOU trade. If you don't have an understanding of your own methods or system you are heading downhill.

My point is that you don't neccesarily need to have an immense understanding of the market and the herd, as long as you have a method of trading that works, what does it matter whether its through deeper knowledge or indicators that do it all for you?



whatever level of knowledge you have , as long you have a good reward to risk result , then that's the only thing that really counts.

Unless of course your results are impeded by the lack of deeper understanding , then you may have to revamp your methods.
 
Couldn't agree more.

'knowlege is king' and although a system with indicators pointing the way may well work, you should always be trying to attain a deeper understanding and trying to learn more about the market as this will always increase your success.

but, if you are trying to earn a living and the freedom of the occupation, the reward to risk results are what count.
 
Joules MM1, only read this thread again today, sorry old chap! Nice posts though, certainly took the boring edge of the original thread, anyway! I tried straddling cattle once, and they bolted up, took the jewels right out of my crown? Nice one! RB!
 
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