by Guest Columnist, Kenneth Reid, Ph.D

Hi… this is Dr. Kenneth Reid from HawkeyeMindset.com

Commitment

Every trader I’ve ever met or coached has been 100% committed to trading. When I ask…“When do you plan on retiring from trading?” I always get the same answer: “Never!”

But what are most traders really committed to?

Based on hundreds of coaching interviews, most aspiring traders are committed to various Outcomes… such as winning, making money, becoming wealthy, being right, figuring it all out.

While we all want these things, a commitment to Outcome, per se, can actually work against the aspiring trader. That’s the sticky paradox of trading for a living.

The Commitment Perspective Change

Over the years, I’ve noticed that there comes a time in every trader’s development when he or she needs to make a different type of commitment in order to achieve their full potential. Otherwise they stay permanently stuck at whatever level they are on.

To better understand this, I’d like you to listen to some words about commitment that continue to inspire me. They were written by a Scottish explorer and mountaineer who survived imprisonment in POW camps during WWII.

He didn’t just “face” challenges that befell him, he sought them out. He assumed risk. And in doing so, he learned a secret that literally saved his life. I think it’s something we all need to learn because trading is dangerous, too.

You can watch a free 3-minute video version of this article and hear his famous words here

(This article will have more impact/value if you listen to that video.)

The Commitment Challenge

So today I’m going to challenge all aspiring Hawkeye traders to make a commitment…not to an Outcome… but to an ongoing Process of self-improvement. What would you be improving exactly? Your ability to skillfully and effectively assume risk.

Having this ability gets us into “The Zone,” the sweet spot that lies between being foolhardy on the one hand, and risk averse on the other. As I mentioned in a previous article, another name for this mental-emotional state is ‘flow.’

And the happy paradox is that if we make a commitment to continuous self-improvement, we seem to encounter serendipitous support for achieving all our goals. This isn’t magical thinking…it’s the essence of mastery.

Next week I’ll discuss a way for Hawkeye traders to transform your commitment into highly practical action steps. Stay tuned.

 

---

 

Join us in the next free LIVE Hawkeye Demonstration Room held every Wednesday at 9.30am EST US. You will learn more about volume and volume price analysis and see more examples and live trade setups. It is open to all.

Click this link for more information or to join us in class.

Learn to trade the Hawkeye way.

Good trading,

Randy Lindsey
Hawkeye Traders, LLC