How did you relinquish your 'need' to be right when trading?

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arbitrage16
Posts: 532
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:27 pm

Finding this to be a common thread in my trading - I will be having a good run, and this includes taking controlled reds quite happily, but will then make a mistake in trading i.e. doing something I know to be stupid, such as entering when the signals are clearly not there, and this will result in my subconscious taking over and jumping on to different runners in the same market as I seek to prove myself right in front of the market. Net result is a bigger red than it should be.

Understand it's a fairly common trait, so for anyone else who has got over this need to be right - how did you achieve it?
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gutuami
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 4:06 pm

just be aware of it all the time. and when you make a mistake observe yourself doing it. this is a very precious time when you can grow. repeating it over and over again and being conscious of it will make you immune with time. very simple and very powerful. it is a survival mechanism that should be re-framed and it takes time. how much time depends on you and only you.
arbitrage16
Posts: 532
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:27 pm

Interesting response, and I think you're right, being constantly aware of it both in trading and not allows a new skill to be developed.

Reading on the topic, I found this sentiment which shows exactly the process as it occurs within me:

The persistent need to be right while making others wrong: Seeming to be right justifies disrespect, contempt, and other forms of emotional pollution, which spread like wildfire in our electronic age. In addition, they suffer an illusion of certainty. High adrenaline emotions, particularly anger, create the profoundest illusions of certainty, due to their amphetamine effects. The amphetamine effect creates a temporary sense of confidence and certainty, while narrowing mental focus and eliminating most variables from consideration. That's why you feel more confident after a cup of coffee (a mild amphetamine effect) than before it, and it’s why you’re convinced that you’re right and everyone else is wrong when you're angry.
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