Chapter One:
The Mindset of an Investor
First things first, if your mind isn’t in the right place to make sound,
grounded decisions, stock market investment is not suitable for you. I’m not
saying this to put you off because anybody can learn and train themselves to
have a sound and grounded state of mind, but this is something you’re
going to want to work towards before you even think about making your
first trade.
Stock market investing can be stressful and emotional at the best of
times, both positively and negatively. Going back to the coffee shop
example, and perhaps an example I’ll use throughout this book, just for
simplicity, if you x10 your investment, of course, you’re going to be over
the moon. However, if you’re caught up in your success and think to
yourself;
“Wow, I’m amazing! Look at this amazing stock I picked and how
much money I made,” and then proceed to invest everything you have into
that same stock without thinking, and then the stock losses value, you’re
going to be worse off than you started and for no reason whatsoever.
On the other side of the coin, if you invest a lot of money into one stock
and it starts to lose value rapidly, you could freak out and panic, literally
watching the value line dropping and dropping as you see your wealth
seemingly disappear. Watching this happen can be devastating and
incredibly stressful, but if you’re making decisions in this state of mind, are
they going to be the right ones?
Probably not.
As a stock trader, you can’t let emotions dictate your actions and
choices, and this is a great lesson that you can apply to the rest of your life.
Not to sound like a self-help book, but say you’re falling out with your
partner. If you talk reasonably and calmly with them, even if they
themselves are flying off the handle, this is far more productive than both of
you just mindlessly shouting at each other. The same logic applies to stock
market investment.
So, you need to be calm to be a stock investor? What else? While you
can apply and train yourself to have the perfect state of mind over time,
here are some of the traits you’re going to want to think about developing,
also known as ‘The Trader’s Mindset.’
Detach from Emotion
As I said above, stock trading can be incredibly emotional if you allow
it to happen. There are guaranteed to be both good and bad times during
your personal trading journey, and you just have to accept that as the reality
of the situation. However, with great risks comes great reward, so if you’re
able to tame yourself and your emotions, you can have them work for you,
rather than create problems in your life.
When I say to ‘detach’ from your emotions, I don’t mean that you
should push them down and ignore them forever. What I’m saying is that
you don’t want them to control you. Let’s say, for example, you’re in a bar
with friends after work on a Friday, and you’re excited to start the weekend.
You get that first drink in, and you turn around to walk to your table, and
someone walks into you on their way past.
They give you a fleeting apology and start to walk away. The drink has
gone all over you and the floor. What do you do? Well, naturally, the first
thing you might feel is anger. Maybe you want to hit the guy or get him to
apologize more? Perhaps you want him to buy you another drink? Perhaps
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