Confidence

I love to dance, always have, yet not always have I gone forth and included myself on the dance floor. I was reminded the other night while noticing some of my friends and many strangers tapping their toes, moving bodies with not much restraint, on the side, not asking anyone to dance, but wishing to be asked. And I'm sure there are reasons numerous, why they wait. I'm not that shy, I will ask if I see someone move well enough to my liking. I don't notice age, size or handsomeness, I go by gut feel. Most accept some turn me down, again reasons. If I were to dwell on it, my confidence may suffer, but I want to dance, so I don't stop. The truth is everyone can dance, if they'd like to; everyone can ask for a partner and engage in the rhythm of the music. Everyone can take lessons, practice and become good, if they want to.

Question is will it give you confidence to take yourself out on the dance floor and display what you can do. And the answer is, not until you actually do it, because confidence comes from the action of doing not the watching.

Confidence is the result of experience, it comes with practice it comes with gut and courage. You have to take the chance in order to gain it. You can't sit on the sidelines and wait for it to happen to you. We encourage paper-trading for that reason. Practice paper money and you gain confidence yet it's not the same as when you put out real money to test it. The gut churns with each tick on the charts and because you watch it so avidly, each tick takes it's toll on your Psyche, each tick makes you question if you made the call correctly, each tick is either a negative or positive. Your stops are your stop-gap on a trade turning against you, and at
some point you have to let go and trust. Trust that your education, practice and abilities have gotten you this far and can carry you forward to a successful performance ending in a gain for you. No one can teach it, no one can give it, no one can make you do it but without taking that leap into the void, you'll never know.

When the dance/trade is finished, and you are feeling good, receiving compliments from peers, the: "wtg", "good call", "wish I could dance like you", "I really enjoy watching you dance" all acknowledge, verify and bolster the confidence earned. Nothing feels as good as knowing you are good at something and now you got it: Confidence! So, go forth and do it again!