Why, as a trader, you shouldn’t put your life on hold.
Here are 3 reasons:
1. Putting your life on hold means you have invested your future happiness in your trading ability.
So, every loss, every draw down, every bad decision, will hurt a lot more, because it will feel like you are not going to get to that place of future happiness.
If you put off sorting your life out, every time you are faced with a challenge outside of trading, you will avoid dealing with it, saying “when I have more money, it won’t matter anymore” or “I can sort it out with money later on”. But that’s just an excuse.
Although you think that more money will make you happier, a little part of you knows deep down that if you are not happy now, you are not guaranteed to be happier with more money.
This unconscious worry can sabotage your progress as a trader.
When you start living your ideal life, with what you have now, your trading will improve for a number of reasons.
You happiness will not be dependent on what the next trade is going to do, so you are a lot more equanimous when dealing with the ups and downs of your P/L.
2. You will be healthier in body and mind.
This contributes to a more positive trading mindset which makes your trading more profitable.
By knowing you can live a great life and be happy now, you are less likely to unconsciously sabotage your trading success.
Some people might be resistant to sorting things out, doing more of the things they love and being happy now. It might sound crazy but a common reaction is “Hang on, if I am happy now then why would I strive and do all the hard work to become a better trader?”
Being happy now does not mean you can’t have ambitions to be even happier. As you start living your dream life, you will start tweaking your lifestyle and get more clarity on what will REALLY make you more happy.
Want more vacations? How about living in a beautiful place like a barndominium in Alaska? Or do you dream of more time for diving? These things all need money. Once you know what makes you happy, you’ll have something to aim for.
3. Once you start doing more of the things you love, you will want to do even more, because you will feel great.
Just like the person trying to lose weight gets increased motivation after losing the first pounds, so it is true that once you get a taste of the lifestyle of your dreams, you will work to continue along that path and keep working on becoming an even better trader.
So don’t wait, start living the life of your dreams with what you’ve got NOW. The rest will follow.
