In reviewing the number of people who reviewe the Mental Edge Newsletter, I discovered that a a large number of people read my column on setting realistic goals. I wonder why it was so popular. If you have an ideas, please let me know.
Here's the column.
The Impossible Dream
The lyrics to “The Impossible Dream” are moving: “To dream the impossible dream. To fight the unbeatable foe. To bear with unbearable sorrow. To run where the brave dare not go. To right the unrightable wrong. To love pure and chaste from afar. To try when your arms are too weary. To reach the unreachable star. This is my quest. To follow that star. No matter how hopeless. No matter how far.” This is quite a romantic way of pursuing a noble goal, but in reality, few of us have the time and money to pursue an impossible dream, but that’s what many people try to do. They set up impossible goals for themselves and never achieve them. Setting more realistic goals is more productive.
Living a life to pursue a noble mission has its time and place. We certainly need selfless heroes in the world, especially these days. But some people don’t realize how they have set themselves up for failure. They try to do the impossible. It’s like believing that one can work a full time job and achieve a 4.0 at a competitive Ivy League university. Unless one is a genius, it can’t be done. People set unrealistic goals all the time and pay the price for it. They often feel stressed out, stuck and spin their wheels.
If you set unrealistic goals you will always feel on edge, and ready to crack under the strain to perform. Realistic goals, in contrast, will help you stay calm and focused. In setting goals, it’s important to have realistic expectations. Trying to do the impossible is unrealistic; modest goals are more realistic, and thus, more satisfying. Yet many people have wild dreams and unwisely reject modest, achievable goals for ones they can't possibly achieve. Since their expectations are often unrealistic, they fail quickly, feel disappointed, and just give up. Setting more realistic expectations eases some of the pressure and helps you build up sound trading skills.
Many people underestimate how long it takes to achieve lasting success. They fail to find out what it takes to achieve their goals and think success is easier to achieve than is possible. Unrealistic goals are hard to achieve. They require a heroic effort, yet many novice traders think only minimal effort is needed. They over-estimate their ability level. They overconfidently think that they have skills and abilities that they do not yet have. Don't ever underestimate the tendency to be overconfident. Conquer the tendency to trade beyond your skills by cultivating a sense of healthy skepticism regarding your trading skills and your trading strategies. Be realistic about what you can actually achieve.
In the end, it’s important not to get your hopes up too high. Motivating yourself by fantasizing of grandiose potential rewards will likely fail in the end. The only way you’ll achieve lasting success is by setting realistic goals. You must accept the fact that trading is just plain hard work that requires time and money, lots of money if you want to trade for a living. You’ll have to put in a heroic effort to achieve success. With enough persistence, hard work, and determination, however, you will build up the skills you need to become a successful trader, but you need realistic plans, not pipedreams.
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