Denial is an insidious and serious human condition that can be extremely dangerous to traders. I think out of all the human conditions, denial is one of the most harmful.
Denial keeps us stuck in doing a negative event over and over again regardless of the outcome. Have you ever heard the saying that madness is doing exactly the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? Denial is usually why people do this!
Are you a losing trader who is trading the same way over and over again expecting different results? If so, you could be in denial. Look at the list below and see which of these apply to you:
- Poor or no record keeping
- Consistently losing month after month
- Not profitable
- Feeling helpless
- Frustrated and stuck
- Lying about your trading results to others
- Creating diversions to distract you from reality
- Needing to appear successful to feel successful
- Spending out of control
- Drinking or wild behavior
- Anxious when alone, can't sit still
If you can identify with two on the above list then you may have a denial issue. If you identify with three or more you have a denial issue. There are different degrees of denial and the idea is that to be a successful trader you must objectively look at yourself and your trading. If you are in denial, or flirting with denial, you are not being objective and are stacking the odds against you that you will be a successful trader.
Denial is insidious, meaning that it begins without you really being aware that has begun. Be on guard for denial. To catch denial before it get out of control, look for the occasional twisting of the truth about your trading results or being lazy about keeping good trading records all indicate that you may not want to face the truth about your trading.
Denial is a disease in that it rarely gets better on its own. Denial rarely just goes away without being proactive and taking conscious action to intervene. Always seek the truth in yourself, your trading and in life and you will be less likely to have a denial problem. Seeking the truth usually takes energy and at times is the harder path to follow and accept, but this is the path you must always follow to avoid denial. As a trader you will not be successful living in denial. Do whatever it takes so that you do not live in denial. If you cannot fix it on your own, get help. You must learn to deal with reality and get a better result!
Bennett A. McDowell, founder of www.TradersCoach.com, began his financial career on Wall Street in 1984, and later became a Registered Securities Broker and Financial Advisor for Prudential Securities and Morgan Stanley. Bennett is considered an expert in technical analysis; he frequently lectures and recently authored the bestselling book The ART of Trading.
