Drivers and Riders

Have you noticed that when you drive, you remember the way better
then when you are a passenger? When driving, we get a better feel for
the road, when we are passengers we tend to see the scenery of the
drivers choosing but cannot necessarily retrace the route we were on.
What we remember depends on how we approach the route; one as
driver the other as rider. ( no backseat talk here)

Every time we hit our desk for a trading day with the attitude that
we are just one person and we have no say or influence over what goes
on in the world, we basically take on the role of a rider. Therefore the
trade we choose to enter is under someone else's control, and we may
not know the destination. We view the scenery, worry about the speed
try to give directions and hope to get to our reward. Hmm not very
confident is it? It's like you have the gas pedal and someone else you
don't know has the wheel. No wonder there are crashes. The reward is
that we get to blame the driver for the negative outcome.

On the other hand if we hit our desk with an attitude that we are
responsible for ourselves and what we do makes a difference in the
world and in our lives, we become drivers. Therefore when we choose
to enter at trade we know we are in control of the direction, timing,
entry, and exit. When we are drivers we have total control of the pedals
and wheel and tend to steer ourselves toward a destination. We stop
and go and make corrections as we need to and know that our
choices make a difference. The reward is that we can take credit for
the positive outcome.

Every time we play the rider we allow someone else the steer our way;
When we play the driver we make the choices of our way. Both can be
scary and both can be rewarding and yes you make the decision as to
which you wish to be at any given moment of our lives.

After a trading day, look yourself in the mirror and see which one you
chose for that day and analyze your trades accordingly. You may be
surprised at what you discover about your style and next time you sit
ready for a trading day, decide which you wish to be.