“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Following Ralph Waldo Emerson’s advice will guarantee that you have in “interesting life.” In trading, however, we will generally do better by being less creative and original. In fact,
I recommend a mindset more like Forrest Gump’s.
Drill Sergeant: Gump! What’s your sole purpose in this army?
Forrest Gump: To do whatever you tell me, drill sergeant!
Drill Sergeant: This is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. You must have an I.Q. of 160. You are gifted, Private Gump. Listen up, people…
In trading, the ability to think less and do less is under-rated. It is also a skill that is underdeveloped in most of us, especially men.
Men have a tendency to want to boldly go where no man has gone before. When we sit down at our fancy computer array it’s easy to imagine ourselves on an intergalactic journey of adventure. There is a new challenge every day because, to paraphrase Heraclitus, we never trade the same market twice.
Surviving and thriving in an environment of challenge, danger and persistent uncertainty where we are stalking vital rewards is familiar territory. We spent millions of years in that evolutionary training ground.
Evolution, however, is a concept we learn in school and it is a bit abstract. Even though our bodies are comfortably situated in our modern home offices, the vast majority of our cerebral neurons are unaware that anything has changed from the days on the hot savannah. The instinctual responses that served us well in that environment are just a few milliseconds away.
You will recognize that fact when you notice your mouse finger getting you in or out of a trade before you have had time to think. When it comes to trading, it’s easy to outsmart ourselves. If you get too creative you will get confused and then your instincts will have to rescue you. If this happens, find a way to be more like Forrest and just follow orders.
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