Trading Is A Game Of Confidence

I love books that apply to trading that do not directly have anything to do with trading. These types of books tend to be about achievement and quite often about achievement in some type of competitive sport. The best are usually about the psychology of playing a competitive game, The Inner Game Of Tennis is a great example. Another great book that I've been slowly working my way through is Golf Is A Game Of Confidence by Dr. Bob Rotella.

In this book, Dr. Bob walks you through 18 stories about different golfers that encountered and overcame some sort of challenge, generally a psychological challenge, in their golf game. Some of the players are professionals while others are just amateurs. To demonstrate how applicable some the principles of this book are to trading, I will show you an excerpt paragraph in its original form and then show it again but with a few words changed.

Original excerpt from the book:

The second constant is the game plan. I want professionals to make their decisions about par fives on Tuesday and Wednesday, during practice. That way, their decisions are more likely to be coolly taken than they would be in the heat of competition. Of course, a plan has to have some flexibility, taking into account such things as the presence or absence of favoring winds. But in general, a player who thinks she is executing a plan is morel likely to be decisive than a player who walks onto a tee wondering what to do. And decisive players, by and large, hit better golf shots.

Changed version adapted to trading with changes in bold:

The second constant is the game plan. I want professionals to make their decisions about trading scenarios (setups) before or after market hours. That way, their decisions are more likely to be coolly taken than they would be in the heat of the trading day. Of course, a plan has to have some flexibility, taking into account such things as the presence or absence of favoring market conditions. But in general, a trader who thinks she is executing a plan is more likely to be decisive than a trader who watches the market wondering what to do. And decisive traders, by and large, make more profitable trades.

Very interesting. Sounds like a paragraph straight out of a trading book. I've only read about half of this book but from what I've read, I would highly recommend it. Dr. Bob Rotella also has another book that I'd like to read called Golf Is Not A Game of Perfect, which I'll probably get after I finish this one.

I hope everyone's having a great week so far.

TLT