Mind Games of a Trader: Is Getting It Right More Important Than Making Money?

I thought about writing on a topic that I find of great importance. Something where most traders usually discover it in their later careers and after some skin in the game. Something that, when one understands and embraces quickly enough in their careers, can lead to a less turbulent path towards mastery. Is the urge of being right more important than making money? That is the question I will try to answer.

There are many aspects in investments and trading that go against our evolutionary instincts. In my view, these are the things that take some time for one to change.

We evolved through the principle of natural selection, and that implies that a higher percentage of wiser choices leads to better survival success. This principle extends to our lives today. A series of right choices generally leads to greatness over time. Also a higher percentage of right opinions among friends results in greater acceptance and relevance. Individuals who ‘get it right’ tend to gain more publicity and recognition. This trend is evident in finance, where public figures often express numerous opinions. However, it’s the ones who consistently ‘get it right’ that usually stand out.

So, it’s natural for someone to think that being consistently right is crucial. The urge of being right has a stronger gravity than anything else. “I need to be right so I can show the world that I am relevant and of great importance.” But is being consistently right truly important in trading?

Let me answer that for you. The simple answer is No. Because having a higher percentage of right choices does not necessarily result in making money. And having a higher percentage of wrong choices definitely does not result in losing money. Making money should be the one and only goal. But for many, the urge of ‘’being right’’ and the rewarding feeling they get when they do, outweighs their process of making money.

You may find me writing a lot about one’s ‘’shelf transformation’’ in trading. This might have a mystical sense, but it goes for all the things that go against the societal structures’ ‘’status quo’’ and a trader must fully embrace towards the path of mastery. These are things that challenge the common beliefs that we grew up with long before discovering trading.

So let me get this straight. Many traders have had great success with being right only 20%-30% of the time because when they are right, they make it big, and when wrong, they lose small. That is a path I follow as well. Now, does being wrong 70% of the time feel good? Definitely no. Does it truly matter in making money? Again, definitely no.

Trying to constantly hunt for that dopamine ‘’fix’’ that you get from being right might make you lose the forest for the trees.

I can’t think of a single day in my trading career that I haven’t felt even a little bit frustrated. Because every day the market has its ways of making you feel stupid. Because there is always a better, wiser choice or series of actions out there every single time. Because not getting it right does not feel good. And that is a reason why many traders quit. Because they can’t handle the unsettling feeling of not being optimal, the unsettling feeling of not being right. The reason traders stay in the game and find success? They fully embrace that unsettling feeling and try to channel it.

Your only way of survival and success is to say :
‘’You can fool me all you want Market, but when I FOOL YOU back, I will make it big’’. You can’t avoid getting humbled by the market; you can’t avoid getting it wrong.

The next time you open up a trade, think of the true reason of why you chose trading. Did you choose trading to make money or to feel rewarded for being right? The real essence of being here is to make money despite all circumstances, even if the circumstances are meant to crash your ‘’ego’’, your opinions and actions every single day. That is how this game is played. So instead of fighting it, just vibe with it. Only when you accept the rules of the game can you embrace those unsettling feelings. Only when you embrace those unsettling feelings will you be able to shelf-transform, and only when you transform can you get closer to mastery. Because sometimes mastery and exceptional performance requires you to build in and operate into ‘’failure.’’