Life relates to trading and trading relates to life. Constantly revealing, unfolding before us as we trade and live, so I write about how my life relates to trading and how I trade the markets. Along the way I share my opinions on anything that evokes my passion or tickles my funny bone trying not to forget that enjoying life is the best part of living.
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*****We are all familiar with the If-Then scenarios of our lives. They occur constantly in our brain even if we are not consciously aware of them. We become conscious of them and program them as we make plans, goals, and have hopes, so we can take action when the scenarios get triggered and the possibilities are seen and can be considered in order to actualize what we want. It is precisely where we need to take action to actualize what we want or, in other words, to make them real. It is at such trigger points where we cannot hesitate because without action there cannot be realization.
Most often we don't hesitate to take action unless the fear factor enters and changes or delays achieving reality. The fear factor is different from the "if-then" scenario although they too are programmed but not by our hopes but by our fears; they are better known as "what if"s. We're all familiar with those also because they are the stop-action triggers of our plans, hopes and desires. It is why the "if-then" often fails the planner. As these other caveats get triggered they create a battle ground in our psyche needing to be yielded to or won over.
We, as humans, in a trader's world are very well acquainted with all these scenarios on a daily, if not moment to moment basis, and our battles are either successful or not based upon how well we have overcome the instinct and trusted the plan. Remembering that doing nothing is equally a form of action, we can then realize that from infinite possibilities our actions actualize our reality.
Happy Trading, Living and Dancing
Anni
My PlayList and SwingTrader List are designed with the "If - Then" scenario in mind considering both long and short trigger entries and possible outcomes. The results I post are based on the maximum result possibility of a single trade and unless perfectly executed in every case, it is not achievable. I post these results because a trader can more easily compare and discover their own caveats and at the same time see possibilities they may have not considered. My lists include a live chart commentary giving my view and a tool. Any trader's "what if" scenario cannot be accounted in them as they are individual therefore leading the trader's outcome to be equally unique and individual. Proving again, that it is the action we take that determines the outcome we experience.
Monday Review - PlayList Week39 for Monday 9/23/2013
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*****Take your pick for the ending of that saying but nothing proves the theory better than what is currently unfolding on San Francisco Bay where the oldest trophy race us currently taking place. The 34th America's Cup, which has been a hot expensive race for the coveted Cup for over 150 years looked to be a sure winner last weekend with only one more race to be won. Oracle Team USA was down 8-1 and Emirates Team New Zealand only had one more race to win to take home the Cup.
This past weekend Oracle Team USA has won all races closing the gap to 8-5 and leaving Emirates Team New Zealand and their fans disappointed. One can blame fate weather, rules, etc. but one also has to consider that the other team had to bear the same. So it must come down to analysis, performance, learning and determination most of all.
The boats were not equal at the start of the race and certainly with #ETNZ having won the Louis Vuitton Cup just a few days before the start, gave them the advantage of practice and ability to tweak their equipment to the conditions. Something that the defender of the Cup, #OracleTeamUSA could not, as they had to wait for the outcome in order to race against the best challenger, or the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Add to their disadvantage also by being given a -2 start position due to a penalty, so they were 0 to -2 before they hit the first start line together. EmiratesTNZ quickly showed dominance of the waters as you can judge from the score but OracleTeamUSA did not give up even as many around judged the races to be disappointing and the New Zealand boat to be better designed and faster.
We, traders know well that that practice trading and real trading are vastly different for only one reason: actual risk and the unknown of the competition. How we analyze and pith ourselves against the challenge will prove our learning ability, reaction to adverse conditions and our determination to reach our goals. Being able to quickly adapt is most often the key to such a challenge but also the confidence in our selves and abilities which will propel us to move forward.
Watching these markets over the years is not the same as trading them. Learning to trade is not the same as the actuality of trading. Being the the "waters" with other traders moving with or against the currents of the markets, catching the winds in our sails with a lucky report or two, but most of all being able to adapt to conditions and tweak our plans to be able to take best advantage of the conditions. That is what the best traders do and must do to become winners.
So now standing at 8-5 points, and realizing that the score is actually 8-7 wins, we can now see that the race is much closer and more exciting and neither race nor teams can be deemed disappointing. So if you cannot be By the Bay watching with me, you can see the live action online http://www.americascup.com/en/schedules/races
Start of race #15 on 22Sep2013 San Francisco Bay, California, USA
See you on or By the Bay, California, USA
Happy Trading, Living and Dancing (and Racing)
Anni
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*****Once again I'm confronted with the "Where are we going?" question and once again I can only report what I see are possibilities. It would be nice to be able to tell everyone with certainty that the markets are definitely going to do "this" or "that" but I have learned that it's best to be open to changes rather than be closed to them for one simple or, perhaps, not so simple reason: Choice
Being open to market change allows us infinitely more choice than if we stay steadfast to one position. I tend to liken staying steadfast to being frozen, and maybe even being in fear. Of course, that is maybe too simplistic as both sides have their challenges. Too many choices may make us equally frozen by indecision (fear of making the wrong choice) or perhaps too active; whereas, if we restrict ourselves and remain steadfast in our position, we may find ourselves stuck with riding markets against them and then again, if we can hold out long enough, we may be proven correct in the long term.
Nobody said that trading is easy, nor that more choices make trading easier. I can only say that the choices each of us make are strictly our own and that they reveal our conviction and direction. Therefore ultimately we make the decision of the possibilities we see, as to which direction we travel. The Markets take all the choices in consideration: up, down or sideways, and will follow the consensus made up by the many, thereby creating more possibilities and choices, ad infinitum.
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***** We have all heard that what we think and believe take on energy and become our reality. In fact some argue that the way we think is how we create our reality. In other words, we as individuals as we see and experience create our outlook, our environment, our way of being, living. Depending on those thoughts we judge our likes and dislikes, and throughout the process make choices. When you consider the billions of people living on the planet that is almost totally incomprehensible unless one considers agreement.
Without agreement there would be utter chaos. We figured out long ago that in order to survive, we cannot be only individual, we also have to be social and in order to become social, we had to somehow agree, or form social circles of agreement arrived at perhaps easy or heated discourse. If we follow the lines along these thoughts, which cause or create our reality then as a whole, by agreement we can do the same as a society in whole and as groups and our thoughts then can generate order out of chaos. All arguable you might say.
What is also true is that the markets and other shapes and forms in the Universe have most likely since conception formed order our of chaos. As we keep witnessing the markets, where patterns undeniably get created over and over again, we may realize that it's not by any magic but by agreement and as many that participate it's hard to imagine having communication is any other way. So if what we think creates energies that now get agreed upon by other thoughts, it may explain why and the therefore of market movements, patterns and the like in the short and the long term.
This is not to go against any creation that may take place by a higher being we worship, but we cannot expect that Creator to do it all either. After all, He gave us the power of choice. It's also true if you're not a believer of a Higher being. In either case you cannot deny creation and if you like to think in conspiracies, you may be part of the very conspiracy you complain about.
Finally, we may consider that instead of asking why this or that happens, we ought to wonder whether we are part of the thoughts that create our reality and thereby also being with the flow.