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How to Push Your Ego Aside to Succeed in trading?

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“Men have surged from the ashes and eloped into the horizons of concrete streets. He still thinks of his ways of killing demons in the past. For flesh or hunger, he is in absolute awe when he gets what he aspires to achieve.” The above lines define the concept of ego. What is ego? Is it a thought or a character?

The thing is, defining your ego seems to be a hard job to do.

It has both advantages and disadvantages. It shapes our character and who we are in limited quantities. But when it goes overboard, it can destroy you to the core. So yes, ego is a double-edged sword.

Ego, confidence, and other attributes are crucial in determining your trading activities and decisions related to that.

But unfortunately, ego is considered a negative attitude in trading. Why is it so? How should you deal with your ego to achieve greatness? Let’s see.

Ego in trading

First, let’s understand what Ego is & how it controls your Mind in trading?

The trading requires a lot of self-analysis and calculation so that you can circle on an investment plan and decide when to release your funds. Ego causes us to think of the present rather than long-term goals. But unfortunately, this impatience leads to wrong instincts, which is the problem. And ego shatters in the way you think and execute your plans. In short, ego forces you to take a very illogical decision that can destroy everything for you. 

For example, if you invest out of your pure ego, you will most likely lose your money. Ego is the portrayal of a human’s overthinking and illogical mind. When a human is an inside ego, he makes wrong decisions and, therefore, falls into the trap of failure. Now you may have understood the connection/mechanism.

The ‘I’ concept

‘I,’ ‘Me,’ and ‘Myself.’ To elaborate, it shows three questions: Who am I, what do I want, and what would I like to do? 

Did you know that a female stock trader does better than her male counterpart? 

This aspect of females doing better than males is quite promising and clearly explains the detrimental effects of ego.

Men are known to have more egos. Throughout history, they were known as protectors, occupiers, and the first line of defense from wild animals in the stone age or protecting their clan, tribe, and ethnic society from other invading tribes and hordes.

The ‘I’ concept is a patriarchal associate that might have leveraged women in making rational trading decisions, keeping aside their egos. That is a classic example of the negative aspects of ego in trading.

How does Ego take control of you in trading?

Many times, people do not know how they are controlled by their ego and become blank on how to overcome it. That happens because they are unaware of themselves, as the trait has made them blind.

Below is a list of behavioral traits one can watch out to analyze if ego takes them over:

  • Being overly assertive regarding profit gains.
  • Being overly analytical about their market-driven assessments and calculations.
  • Being defensive about a particular way of stock trading.
  • Being overly observant of stock market dynamics.
  • Being extremely dejected and investing and implementing the same tactics repeatedly to gain profit.

If you have these characteristics, you’re going in the wrong direction. So try to avoid these and be clear about your stock decisions.

The necessity of Ego in trading

Ego is useful only when used in limited quantities.

You are what you’re when you have an ego of yourself, and it pushes you to survive and be who you’re? When do you need to do it?

It is essential to understand that some traders, in some instances, refrain from taking the risk even if they’ve calculated the numbers. They refrain from taking an optimum leap of faith. I’m in that case. So you require ego boosters to take the action that you fear.

Simple tricks to control your ego when trading

  • Try positive affirmations and condition your mind to think positive. That will help you become optimistic about the goals that you believe you can achieve.
  • Think and imagine all the positives that can happen when you trade stocks. You imagine you won a big profit from it.
  • Try changing your submissive behavior to assertive behavior. Recognize your weak behavior patterns and replace them with proactive rightful behavior.
  • Exercise promotes active brain regions when promoting ego-building or being assertive. Therefore, you can try exercising to build a healthy ego.

Conclusion

The ego is a different dynamic altogether, originating from primitive times. This piece elaborates on how, when, and why ego exists.

It also focuses on what ego is in trading. Your actions determine the existence of the ego. So, keep aside your ego and pull off logical decisions.

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About the Author

Divesh Jotwani is a Full-time trader in the Indian stock market. He has spent over 20+ years researching and discovering WD Gann's methods and applying them day in and out markets.