Actors In A Play
"Remember that you are an actor in a play, playing a character according to the will of the playwright—if a short play, then it's short; if long, long. If he wishes you to play the beggar, play even that role well, just as you would if it were a cripple, a honcho, or an everyday person. For this is your duty, to perform well the character assigned you. That selection belongs to another."
—EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 17
Yet another meditation again today, that is tough to compare to trading! There is however, a sentence in there that immediately makes me think of it in a trading sense and I quote; "The Stoics remind us that whatever happens to us today or over the course of our lives, wherever we fall on the intellectual, social, or physical spectra, our job is not to complain or bemoan our plight but to do the best we can to accept it and fulfil it."
Being a successful trader doesn't mean we have to be super intelligent, we don't need to be socially confident and we don't need to be physically perfect, like an athlete may need to be. We need to be persistent, patient, disciplined, confident and consistent with the execution of our trades and to be able to fully manage those trades that are threatening to go against us, early enough to protect our trading bank and live to fight another day!
We shouldn't be complaining when the market deals us a bad hand. We accept that this is going to happen occasionally and we deal with it swiftly and without hesitation, whenever it is necessary.
The sooner you can accept that you won't be profitable from every trade, the more prepared you will be to deal with it.
We need to develop an acceptance and an understanding that anything can happen during a trade and expecting the unexpected, can give us an advantage to react in a heartbeat, when things are going against us.
We need to have that desire to excel as traders and slowly grow and improve as we develop on our trading journey.
Are you up for the challenge?