Dean Karnazes runs like a man possessed. He’s an ultramarathoner, which means he goes beyond marathon distances – sometimes a lot farther. He once ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days. Apparently, the dude loves pain.
In his book Confessions of an All-Night Runner, he makes the following statement:
“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not demanding more from yourself – expanding and learning as you go – you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”
So, this being a trading blog, it begs the question: how well do you embrace the struggle of trading? At times it’s really smooth, and trading can provide extraordinary profits in incredibly brief amounts of time, but not always. Sometimes trading’s a real grind. You question everything you’re doing, your results offer you no condolences, and you’re just flat-out suffering.
If you’ve been through that before and you’re still a trader, congratulations! You have been able to overcome the pain and doubt and press on and work your way out of it. Others of you, however, might be facing that right now for the first time and you’re wondering if you have what it takes.
Here’s the thing…if you fall into the latter camp, this is where the rubber meets the road. You’re facing a choice of whether to persevere or to walk away. While moving forward might or might not deliver the success you so badly want, I can guarantee you that permanently walking away will never allow you to reach your trading goals.
Struggle, Suffering, and Success
Struggling and suffering in trading are common side effects of the job, they come with the territory. As you well know, if it were easy then everyone would be doing it. Trading can be hard, it can be demanding, and boy can it be frustrating.
That same struggle can also propel you to new heights of success, but you have to respond the right way – and it’s not gonna be comfortable.
3 Ways to Grow from Trading Adversity:
1. Appreciate the ache. It doesn’t mean you enjoy the frustration. Appreciating it means you acknowledge it’s here, you recognize the fact that a change is needed, and you understand that if you don’t shift in some way it’ll be the end of your trading – at least for a while.
2. Expect to grow. Why shouldn’t you? What you’re doing isn’t working, as otherwise you wouldn’t be facing adversity to begin with. Watch for new kinds of moves, implement some different techniques, and anticipate some different results. If you survive, you’re going to be a better trader because of this time and how you respond to it.
3. Require more from yourself. Maybe you got stagnant, and that’s what brought you to this point of frustration. You’ve had some approaches which have worked, and you rested on them – perhaps a little too much. As traders, we have to continually blend a loyalty to what’s working now with a willingness to employ some new methods. So push yourself more going forward, keep moving, never sit idle when it comes to growing as a trader.
And finally, for some of you this is a wake-up call. You’re starting to become set in your ways, but you now recognize you’re in for a rude surprise if you continue to operate in that manner. No more! Seek out ways to improve, to grow, to add to your skill set. Because according to Dean, getting stuck in your comfort zone means you’re denying yourself something extraordinary – maybe even that elusive next level.
Very good word, Jeff.
Ben
Thanks Ben, no sense in getting run over, we just have to handle the bumps the right way to survive and emerge better. We have to have a “that which doesn’t kill me can only make me stronger” type of mentality in this game of trading. Point being that every struggle has potential to make us better.
Go get ’em tomorrow!
My wife read that. No interest in trading (she’s a long term investor). She thought it was a good article and applied to her yoga. Similar requirement to grow. She’s doing well! Standing on her hands now. Maybe yoga and trading is a good mix.