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Trading and Zen
By Singapore Man of Leisure  •  December 17, 2014
Don't worry. I am not a bleeding heart so no proselytising from me! For newer readers, I am agnostic. However, I do use Zen as my spiritual and philosophical anchor. It's the closest metaphysics I can find that's has the least conflict with Science. I'm into verification that sort of thing... This post is not about sharing how to apply Zen into your trading. For that, you can easily search under Google and many others bloggers/traders who have already done so. I shall instead share how trading has helped me in my understanding of Zen, and in turn, myself. Do we want too see the truth? For some of us trading for some years, we can see this phenomenon quite often: Entering a good trade yet lost money; and winning money with a bad trade. Yet there are traders who will never admit to it or are puzzled how can it be? Seeing and admitting the truth takes courage. With trading, the feedback is a lot quicker since we practice mark-to-market every closing. In real life, we do have an "inkling" how the world works, where we fit into this pecking order, and how we are all different from one another. Yet we tell little lies and make up fantasies not only to ourselves, we tell them to our children and share it with other people!? We do this as it feels comfortable when more people believe the same shit we do. That's why we have people eager to share with others how easy it is to make money without realising they were already a "victim" of a financial scam.... Or to recruit you into MLM, or cell group, or political party. By applying the trading process of constant reviews, re-evaluations, and reflections - it helps me see the world as it is; not what I wished it to be. How do we know we know? In school, we do it through tests and exams. That was easy! How do we know we can do it? Professionals do it via articleships or housemanships and acceptance by professional bodies. You don't call yourself a practicing lawyer or registered accountant just by having a relevant degree do we? There are quite a few engineers in our financial blogosphere. Many have engineering degrees, but how many are certified professional engineers? Outward manifestation of Zen Mindfulness, living in the here and now, no mind - all wonderful concepts to show off and pretend I know. But when I started trading... Shit! Knowing and doing are not the same!!! That's where I go, "Jared, you are such a fraud!" I don't make money with knowledge (unless I teach); I make money with execution. In trading, it's all about execution - entries and exits. If I can't tell whether I've made a good trade or bad trade (what has profit or loss got to do with it?) what's the point with Zen again?
Singapore Man of Leisure (welcome to my blog; just google it!)
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3 Comments

3 responses to “Trading and Zen”

  1. Desmond says:

    hi jared

    an insightful post i must say………….

    Like you , I am just as guilty sometimes on the path of trading………..did you miss the rally that Yellen gave this morning ? I did wake up but not after the party nearly over , only to suck thumb and wonder how come, this and that………..

    Being aware of our conscious state and how it affects us in all areas of our lives is indeed something that I am paying more attention to lately. I am slowly digressing from the city life – the hustle and bustle , read more , write more, reflect more and think more, haha.

    I think being good in one area (zen in your case) may not necessarily translate to you being able to apply in trading, which is a time sensitive and heart-pounding exercise, imo.

    Martin Segliman in his positive psychology books did say that we should compartmentalise our lives. If our career is doing well, we should celebrate even though our health area may not be as good as we want it to be. Of course, the ideal is the whole pie working in harmony and towards our vision.

    All the best :)

    • Desmond,

      Thanks once again :)

      That’s why I don’t write about applying Zen to trading. I think its more down to earth and less conceptual to share what trading has revealed – the warts and all – in my superficial understanding of Zen.

      Oh! I woke up at 3 am this morning to watch Janet Yellen’s press conference live.

      I’m already vested in my short EUR/USD position so it’s a case of letting my position run. Phew! No trailing-profit-stops triggered.

      I’m with Martin Segliman. You and I are cheerleaders.

      If we can’t cheer and motivate ourselves, there goes our “credibility” ;)

  2. RetailTrader says:

    Thanks SMOL! I dropped a comment about a week back asking you to elaborate on Zen and trading and here it is!

    Trading is like a mirror as you find out aspects about yourself you probably didn’t know before you started trading. You find out your weaknesses and your thresholds/comfort levels. And more importantly, your ability to “smoke” yourself when you are in a losing trade!.

    Is it better to make a good trade and lose money, or is it better to make a bad trade but win money? That’s something I pondered over recently as well.

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