You know you’re in a rut when you think Murphy’s Law is true. It’s never the case that everything is going wrong, but it sure can feel that way at times. (I mean, sayings like “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” cannot feel reassuring.) Some things may go wrong at times, but many other things are going right. It’s just a matter of remembering this fact and realizing that things could always be worse. That said, there are times when your mind is focused solely on the negative. Rather than look at both the good and the bad, you may feel badly and dream of how things could have gone better. But again, you can’t let a pessimistic mood get you down.
If you are in a challenging profession, setbacks can be expected, and you cannot let setbacks get the better of you. Trading is surely competitive. It is not the case that people are personally out to get you, but other people are involved and they are certainly trying to take care of their own agenda rather than help you, but you can’t take it personally. It’s just business. There are three key strategies that you can use to persist in the face of adversity: (1) Cultivate a fighting spirit, (2) set up an alternative reward system, and (3) focus on the process not the prize.
It is vital to remain realistic, and ready to face setbacks head on. Youthful exuberance is useful. Young people are often naïve and optimistic, but this state of mind can do wonders to pick up your spirits. Believing that you are omnipotent and can do anything is naïve, but believing this fallacy for just a minute picks up your spirits. Sure, you can’t do anything you want, but you can probably do a lot more than you think when you are feeling beaten down. The key is to have a fighting spirit. Rather than focus on how life has beaten you down, it is useful to look on the bright side and appreciate what you have. You might as well think, “I don’t care what happens. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to keep fighting for what I want. I would rather try hard and fail than sit on sidelines and wonder what might have happened if I had just tried harder.” By cultivating a fighting spirit, one can look at setbacks as minor, commonplace events and take them in stride.
Setting up an alternative reward schedule will provide more consistent rewards and allow you to persist even when faced with a series of setbacks. Reward yourself after putting in a fixed amount of time (the end of each day, for example). Buy yourself a nice dinner or do something you find enjoyable. By patting yourself on the back for your efforts, you'll consistently feel satisfied with your profession, and stick with it. Many times we put in time and effort to achieve our goals, but the world does not reward us. Indeed, we may try hard and put in a heroic effort and actually receive punishment for our efforts. People may criticize us unfairly or someone may beat us out just because they had connections that we didn’t have. Life can be unfair at times, so it is vital to reward yourself for your efforts rather than wait for others to reward you. If you did a good job, you should feel good about it. Who cares what other people think.
Finally, it is essential to focus on the process, not the prize. Many people are driven by money, power, or prestige and when they don’t get any of these things, they feel like a failure. But rewards are never guaranteed, so it is much better to do what you like and feel the intrinsic gratification of having fun doing what you like. By focusing on intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, rewards, you'll feel more comfortable and creative, and do better in the long run.
