“Be neither a conformist or a rebel, for they are really the same thing. Find your own path, and stay on it.” -Paul Vixie
When’s the last time you jumped off a cliff because everybody else was doing it?
Okay, bad example.
Have you ever raised your hand with your classmates even though you’re pretty sure that they have the wrong answer?
No?
How about this one…You patiently wait outside with a large crowd of people to get into the door at a movie or bar when someone dashes right in with no second thought.
The door was open the entire time!
Nobody ever approached the door to see if it was unlocked! You just assumed it was locked. You simply followed the crowd and didn’t take the initiative to check for yourself because of feeling embarrassed if you were wrong.
Your reactions, or lack of, illustrate conformity. You care too much about your “image” and what others think of you. Stepping out of your comfort zone is too much for you to handle. You think that being like the majority is safe and out of harm’s way.
Take a risk? No way, it scares the heebie-jeebies out of you.
You’re afraid to take even a small, sensible risk for fear of the negative consequences. You lack initiative.
Does this sound like you?
If so, don’t worry. The previous traits describe how a large majority of traders respond to the turbulent ups and downs of the forex market.
So why do traders conform?
Well, your everyday conformists usually concern themselves a great deal with self-appearance. They are definitely interested in looking good. Wanting to make the right impression is something that was instilled at childhood.
Conformity is so encompassing that these people always worry about displaying the “right” impression even when it’s not needed.
To save embarrassment, they might hold onto a losing trade. And they may not want to try anything original or even pioneering, given the possibility of coming off as a fool when explaining things to friends.
But what does it really matter what anyone else thinks?
If you have problems with this, look deep inside yourself for direction on what you really want to do. Never let anyone else’s thoughts or feelings decide your path.
Other traders conform because they fear taking risks. Behind this fear usually lies the shame of losing and being a failure. And these conformists have to be right.
How do you help yourself?
Realize that failure IS to be expected.
It happens to everyone.
Many successful business people will tell you they had more failures than successes, but that it was the lessons that they learned from their failures that played a larger role in eventually attaining success.
Winning traders learn from failure, don’t care if they look bad and aren’t afraid to take risks.
Now, there’s a difference between moving outside of the lines gradually and totally throwing caution to the wind by gambling your money away like a mad man (or woman or cow).
A winning trader takes risks, but protects himself with proper risk management. In time you’ll learn how far outside the lines you can travel comfortably and when it’s time to come back. You’ll be trading like a winner… in your own way and on your own path.
