There come times when your physical body challenges you and attempts to take you away from the present. In my case, it’s a sore jaw recovering from a not-so-pleasant contouring rending me unable to enjoy eating and unable to perform strenuous exercise. Pair that with one of my computer systems going down today, taking out two of my screens, a queasy stomach from grotesque winship, and the Nasdaq printing the THIRD neutral extreme day in a row, and you have a recipe for a mental breakdown.
These days are when you must be at your very best, a citizen who rises above the material world and simply exists now, in the present, and behaves as one must. A better trader? Perhaps, but not a better citizen. Thus, with screen real estate DOUBLING in value, I chose to take a long lunch and purchase a new computer.
Upon returning, things went very well. WB had gone insane, I scaled a piece at new all time highs. AMZN had made an aggressive counter rotation off the low, I bought next week’s call. GPRO is so very close to my target, one might have to bend to win, as if facing the German Blitzkrieg. SINA suggested a failed auction, I scaled. My ZU calls, rendered practically worthless in a setup still beautiful, a strong volume characteristic and a weak high, I bought more time. Little market profile and auction theory quirks, practiced and studied over-and-over, like judo, until they become natural and practically automatic.
I must say, it is a wonderful feeling being free of thinking and simply able to trade. If you have never experienced this feeling, the last thing you should be is discouraged. Stay with this site, these traders, they are some of the brightest minds in finance. If I sat here and thought my work was done, the need to study and review and improve, or even if I became a bit too boastful, my head would be on a pike in two short market days. The work never stops, if you do not love the process and are only attached to the material outcome, then I assure you a path of suffering awaits.
These were some of the thoughts experienced during my out of body dentist visit, I am finally feeling cognizant enough to type them out. Stay humble lol.
If you enjoy the content at iBankCoin, please follow us on Twitter
added to XON right at the bell too, long term play
Dentist visits not always painless. Thank you for your post after regaining consciousness, sir
I mean, I was posting yesterday but this is the first time I could elaborate on some of the thoughts occurring during my NOS induced out of body experience lol. Still a bit foggy from that crap
Almost sounds as if you’re a 3rd person operating/controlling you. Sure would take some of the emotion out of the equation…
There’s a duality in all of us, when we are fully engaged in the present, the being mode, using our logical human mind to act based upon market profile and planning it is an experience of being “in the zone” as professional athletes describe it.
The challenge is understanding but minimizing the inputs our primal mind so readily offers up–instincts cultivated after 1000s of years living in caves.
Speaking of, how are your robots faring, Raul? When, perchance, will you be teaching a week long series on bot building?
I abandoned them. They were helpful, early on, for validating a trading picture. Their performance was always spectacular on backtests and optimizations, but when they were sent forth into live environment, they would falter. There is a place for robots-longer term trades and high frequency, IMO. Medium frequency trading (i.e. 5-10 trades/day) are best done without any algos, moving averages, signals, etc. My performance and execution are best when just using price, volume (delta), and trade management. I may revisit an automated strategy when conditions perk up to favor it again. I like 15 minute charts to keep my mind on the big picture and a renko chart for triggering entry and trade management.