TraderPlanet.com :: doctorjanice's Commentaries

What Do You Believe That Is Not True?

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:26:49 +0000

A man had constant dizzy spells for which he could find no cure.

He told a close female friend about it, who advised, 'Walk around the block three times on Sunday afternoon.'

The man followed the advice, and then complained to his friend, 'I did what you said, but still feel dizzy.'

She replied. " Interesting. It didn't help my dizziness either!"

In trying to understand life, beware of foolish advice from those who do not know.

In trading and in life, it is critical to ask yourself: What sour...

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Here and Now

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:44:45 +0000

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, and find your eternity in each moment...Henry David Thoreau

How do we create our best life?How do we find that longed-for balance of fulfillment, orderliness, financial stability, and relationships? How do we produce the outcome we want in any area of life? And when do we achieve it?

There are thousands of so-called experts on this subject. They claim to know more about what is good for us than we do ourselves. They bombard us with a ...

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How Many Psychiatrists Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:45:23 +0000

All serious daring starts from within...Harriett Beecher Stowe

Sometimes, it takes a lot longer to get anywhere near the truth. In this case, it took nearly one month of phone calls and e-mails.It all started with a phone call.

Jerry phoned me and talked non-stop for nearly 30 minutes about how much he knew about trading and how great his plan was.

Things that make one go .....Hmmmm? No one calls to tell me how well they are doing.People call for help, and I couldn't hear any cry for help from ...

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Ten-Minute Case Study

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:36:20 +0000

In the early hours of yesterday morning, I picked up the phone and heard a woman sobbing loudly.I did not recognize the phone number or the voice, so I knew it was not a relative or friend.Still half-awake, I asked her how I could help her.It was yet another tale of sorrow, struggle and the inability to make ends meet. She was a single woman who lost her job and turned to scalping in the DJIA mini-futures to make enough money to save her house and pay her bills.She had been trying for four ye...

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Beware The Biases

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:21:53 +0000

It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and another to put him in possession of truth...John Locke

Cognitive biases describe the way you think--the operative words here being cognitive and biases . You tend to hold on to your biases, even when they don’t serve you well.This causes you to make trading mistake after trading mistake. Also, since your brain is hard-wired for biases, it is difficult to change them without experiencing some type of internal discomfort. Resistance to c...

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Trading Through the Storm

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:08:42 +0000

I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship…Louisa May Alcott

Here’s a note I received two weeks ago:

“I am trading poorly. I can’t get much right these days and am losing after five years of solid gains in the grains.I don’t know what is wrong with me.I have become mediocre at best and am breaking my rules.The worst part is that I keep adding to losers and end up taking big losses or getting margin calls.Something is wrong.I am bummed and burned out.Two years of gains are no...

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