Hype and financial deception around the block

Hype and financial deception around the block

He that lives upon hope will die fasting…Benjamin Franklin

 

A man had constant dizzy spells and searched everywhere to find a cure.

He told a close female friend about it, who advised, “Walk around the block four times on Sunday afternoon.”

The man followed the advice, and then complained to his friend, “I did what you said, but still feel dizzy. In fact, I feel even dizzier than before!”

She replied.  “Interesting.  The same thing happened to me.”

In trading and in life, it is critical to ask yourself:  What sources of information are guiding my actions?  Have I checked the facts, or am I simply relying on the word of this or that person? Have I applied common sense and my own study to this situation, or am I acting impulsively or instinctually?  Is my primitive rat brain really out to get me this time, or am I taking the higher road and using my frontal  brain areas to overcome fear and greed.

Must Read: Dr Copper is back from the dead!

Among the most important questions for you to ask is:  What do I believe that is not true?   This must become a mantra for you if you are to succeed in trading because you are trading your beliefs against the beliefs of others. Constantly question your own belief system.  This leads you to question what others are saying. It forces you to turn down the noise and focus on the signal in the here and now.

Lazy thinking leads to lazy trading that leads to losses.  The incessant drumbeat of self-deception is magnified by the unending amount of misinformation and disinformation that bombards your senses during the trading day.  Be vigilant.  Question everything and everyone, including me.  There are no gurus except for you.   You, more than anyone else in the world, know your risk tolerance.  If a position is not working, it is not a good position. Get out. Cut losses.  If you see another opportunity in the same stock, have the courage to get right back in.  Don’t allow your rat brain to “dope-amine” you to the point where you deceive yourself by holding and hoping as losses mount— or are frozen in fear from taking even a small loss.

The financial markets are saturated with hype and deception.  Learn to see past these, and become alert to anything that sounds just too good to be true.  If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.  The tragedy of trading is that that even the most alert and rational among us can be fooled.  This is one reason why the search for trading truth is a lifetime journey that no one ever fully completes.

Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper…Francis Bacon
Thanks and Good Trading!

Biography
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. received a Ph.D. in Anatomy (Neuroanatomy) from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology as well as the American Board of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Janice Dorn has written over 1,000 articles on trading psychology and behavioral finance. Dr. Dorn is dedicated to providing education and training about how the brain, psychology and emotions impact financial decision-making. Janice is an advocate for the elderly, lifelong dancer and a pianist. Her website is: www.mindmoneymarkets.com

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