“Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course…the space between your ears.”- Bobby Jones
Yesterday was one of the best Masters I ever watched and if you watched it too, you saw the quote above during some of the limited commercial breaks.. Bobby was one of the best that ever lived and like most legends, they seem to speak volumes in small phrases.
Golf for me is the closest comparison to trading. Although you are competing with others, the real battle is with you and what is between your ears. Trading can be one of the greatest mental challenges there is.
When I hit it down the middle off the first tee I feel empowered on my second shot. I liken that to having my first trade of the day being a winner. It gives me confidence and helps me have a follow through trade that’s successful as well, usually. Spraying my first shot into the woods, (with me anyway,) leads to frustration, pressure and increases my chance of a tentative second shot. It’s time to take a deep breath, so I can correct.
They say most traders have their worst trades after a good run. Why? We’re emboldened, cocky and feel teflon. Nothing can hurt us. That’s when we fail. The wheels came off the tracks yesterday for Rory Mcilroy. He was leading after three and a half rounds and just imploded, he became unhinged. Was he cocky? in this case I don’t think so at all, but there were elements of his game that disappeared that weren’t there the first three rounds. Maybe he was playing a little “not to lose”. Maybe he got tentative..trying to protect to much. I don’t know. Again…a head game totally.
So many books have been written on this topic, many by authors that probably blew themselves up. The cure is “screen time”.