There’s No Room for Perfectionists in Trading
December 6th, 2007I’ve long said that one of the primary “skills” required to be a good trader is learning how to be wrong. Until you can come to grips with the fact that you have absolutely no control over what the market does, you’ll never be successful.
There’s a tremendous need in all of us to “be right”. The problem is that being right and making money in the markets are often two different things. Some people never learn this skill in any aspect of their lives including trading.
I stumbled upon an article today that touches on this topic. Here’s a quote from the article:
Some researchers divide perfectionists into three types, based on answers to standardized questionnaires: Self-oriented strivers who struggle to live up to their high standards and appear to be at risk of self-critical depression; outwardly focused zealots who expect perfection from others, often ruining relationships; and those desperate to live up to an ideal they’re convinced others expect of them, a risk factor for suicidal thinking and eating disorders.
“It’s natural for people to want to be perfect in a few things, say in their job — being a good editor or surgeon depends on not making mistakes,” said Gordon L. Flett, a psychology professor at York University and an author of many of the studies. “It’s when it generalizes to other areas of life, home life, appearance, hobbies, that you begin to see real problems.”
Trading is probably the worst thing to try to do if you’re a perfectionist. You’re constantly being told how “wrong” you are (what’s your win rate?) 
It’s handling these setbacks in stride that will allow you to make money instead of being perfect. Leave the perfectionism for the open heart surgeons.
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