Simon: Trading Strengths

As a trader, i am always searching for ways to improve my trading strategies. Last week i wrote about my trading weaknesses, this week i am writing about my strengths. With a combination of awareness in both my strengths and weaknesses, i should be able to come up with a consistently profitable trading strategy and psychology.

1. constantly looking for new ideas and techniques. Whether i am doing bad or good in the market, i reserve a part of my day to reading trader's blogs, reading a stock market book, or reevaluating my own trading technique. only the truly stubborn and cocky will assume that the market is simple and their trading is no need of improvement. i have learned throughout the trading year that i have much to learn and that trading is not anywhere as easy as it seems. me and the other titan have gotten ourselves into a very risky and tough business and only if we can keep improving, can we keep up with the big boys. i don't believe in just staring at charts watching the ticks move up and down (like the other Titan has been doing for the past hour). I rather spend my time looking for the next big trade or a new technique to incorporate into my analysis.

2. i enjoy trading. in fact, i can say honestly that i love it. love and hate maybe. without this love, i would have been out of the market on the first slump in my account. i am driven because i enjoy it. waking up and seeing the market is something i look forward to. trying to figure out the complex puzzle of the market and trader's psychology never gets boring. i don't think that any trader can make it if they don't have the passion for the market. i believe that success is in doing what u are passionate in. it is this same passion that i see my friend, Rino, have. he is (un)successful because of his passion. when i lose this love, it will be time to retire.

3. despite a weakness at times, i consider my emotions one of my strengths. its similar to my passion. the dips and peaks in emotion keep this game very fun. i feel alive through emotions. good traders supposedly aren't emotional to events in the market. i can either take my emotions and suppress them but instead i have learned to use it sometimes to my advantage. as long as it doesn't get in the way of sound judgment, i think it can be a benefit to my strategy.

4. economics degree. i feel that my education in economics back in college helps me a lot. i can differentiate important news from unimportant news. i can see news from a more unbiased direction to remove most of the clutter that confuses traders.

All these strengths are there. Only problem is that i haven't used them in their most useful way. My current goal, through all this sideways, trendless action of the market is to improve my strategy, mostly in using goals and being aware of my weaknesses.