The Daily Note - Avoiding Self

To me, the reasons why we avoid ourselves is very mysterious until we realize that since birth we've been relying on others how to do, live or enjoy this life. Every day since birth we've been told how, what, or where we need to look to be sure we're doing things well. School only reinforces relying on the outside view and often derides those who look within. All advertising and even entertainment programs now, such as television, motion pictures, magazines remind us daily that "experts" have the answer for everything, thereby diminishing or even killing our sense for self-reliance. And I haven't even mentioned what governments do to lead us to dependence by constantly reminding us that without them, we would not have jobs or our health, and we'd be without roads, energy or even our senses if you listen to them the way they tell it.

School systems including colleges and universities are the second biggest sellers of dependence. Many believe that no one can get educated without them. It is their constant message, especially when coupled with "Everyone MUST have a college degree". Less and less people step outside of the fray to question all this expertise because it has been part of the curriculum of the schools system for at least 3 generations, and we all know it only takes that long to change a society. Don't we?

I am not saying to discard all institutions but in order to keep our own individual creativity and sense of independence we must limit their power over us. It was not the intent of the founders of this country that we be ruled by them but for us to rule ourselves. It is ironic that those perpetuating the notion that the US Constitution is a "living" document are the ones that wish to dominate us more than to let us live within our own means.

In order to wake up your independence, you have to quit avoiding yourself. Quit thinking that others know more about you, and honestly get to know yourself in a non-dependent way. Discover what you can do for yourself. You will see that as you grow more independent so you will help others do the same. It's not a handout, it's a way of life. It's not a dependence it's a way to become free. To awaken your spirit of independence and for you to realize that you're being encouraged to give it up each and every hour of your life, I suggest you go out and watch a bird fly. Who is paving it's way? Who is telling it which way to fly, where to build it's nest and what to eat to stay healthy and alive? Finally ask who is teaching it how to live? I suggest we know the answers well from within us, once we learn to listen to ourselves and not to the commercials, propaganda, or even the "expert" studies.

We all need to cooperate to have something removed as well as to have something added to our lives by outsiders. We all cooperate with those willing to tell us what to do when we become uncaring, lethargic, lazy about ourselves; all leading to giving power to those who are more than willing to indoctrinate us. I don't doubt for a minute that it's not with good intention for the most part, but think about what those good intentions are really taking away from you.

If I tell you that the market, sector or a stock is going to go up or down and tell you to buy or sell according to my reasoning, how do you know what my agenda is with that recommendation? It could be my best intention for all or am I trying to manipulate a large audience to a like or contrary position so I can take advantage of the resultant price rise or drop? I don't delude myself that I could, but we all know that we have to be leery of analysts and brokers. Yet, why are we not equally leery when it comes to large money managers like the Fed, the Congress, the IMF, ECB, or the likes of  George Soros telling us what to do and how to manage our monetary lives. Why is it that we hang on every word they say and allow them to "rule" the markets with reports that they correct over and over again? Much like the "expert" health officials who tell us one year how much coffee is good for us, then change it to a negative the following year for the same quantity.

It's not easy to untangle ourselves from the daily spin unless we become aware of it and train ourselves to have alarms go off when we hear it. Then, in our aware state, we can begin to question what we hear and, if we know ourselves, learn to listen or dismiss all or part of the information. It is thus, with trial and error that we develop ourselves. It is thus that we learn to trust and stop avoiding our "self" in order to become our own ruler of our destiny and become the best that we can be, which, using our own analysis, only we know.

It all gives a new meaning to "Trade what you know" .


Happy Trading, Living and Dancing
Anni


The Daily Pick - NDX ©DayTrading with Anni 2012 All Rights Reserved

The Daily Note - Being "Home"

Many say that the most fun of being away is coming home. I say that is true only when you don't feel at home anywhere, except your home. Some of us who have lived in several places in our lifetime, will agree that "home" can be many places and indeed I have confused many friends over my lifetime by calling them all "home". So, let me elaborate about what being "home" means to me.

"Home is where the heart is." Since I take my heart everywhere, it's easy to find home anywhere. That is not to say that I don't miss my loved ones at my other "homes", because I do, but since I have loved ones in many places, my heart is at the current one, therefore, I am home.

"Bloom where you're planted." I remember the first time reading that and being upset. "What if I dislike where I was planted?" I thought, because at the time I did. But the saying has great insight. If you don't enjoy where you are, you will wither and not blossom and if you cannot change the place you are at the time, you might as well enjoy the sunshine you get and grow to be the best you can be. Of course if you can move to a preferred space, do so. At some point presumably when you're an adult, you can change your surroundings to your liking, so nothing is permanent unless you make it so.

Just by remembering those two sayings I have felt home on this trip everywhere I went. I received welcomes, met more people with smiles and felt more at home than away. I ended up extending my stay in some places as a result and had a thoroughly fantastic time everywhere I visited. Truly, feeling at "home" is more an attitude than reality so now, I may confuse people even more often with the term.

So, welcome to my home here on the web where I've been writing articles about life and trading for nearly five years. I left on a two month trip to homes I've long not seen and discovered more new ones. Now that I am back I am eager to once again write, from a fresh perspective, about how life relates to trading, so please stay tuned. :)

Happy Trading, Living and Dancing
Anni

©DayTrading with Anni 2012 All Rights Reserved

The Daily Note - I'm Satisfied

 Perhaps what I like most about what I do is the satisfaction I feel when a target is hit. I say this not to boast or to gloat but rather to bring attention to the feeling many traders deny. Although  I'm a good marksman with a gun,  it is actually in the game of darts that I learned the satisfaction of target shooting.  It's been many years since I was on a team, but the feeling of satisfaction when hitting the target and especially a game winning "out" will never leave me and recognizing that same feeling is of what I speak when playing the game of stock trading.

Often, traders can reach the level they set as a goal but that is when the ego begins to play tricks and where many traders forego taking profits, only because they think the same game will continue to a more glorious end. If you know darts however, you know that there is nothing better than hitting an "out" (getting to 0)  and ending there IS the win.

Like in tennis, there are several games in darts before the match is over, just like there are many trades possible in a day before the markets close.  So traders need to remember that  there is never shame or a loss in taking profits when the target is reached, but sadly loss is possible when the ego takes over and one forgets the rules of the game. When ego takes over, we throw darts without precision when we keep ego at bay, we pay more attention to our aim.

Remember that the ego plays tricks often to fool you into failure. Also remember that satisfaction is knowing that you played the game well to a winning end which cannot be belittled by the ego.  Building on the feeling of satisfaction, not building of ego, is what makes successful traders more successful.

Happy Trading, Living and Dancing
Anni

 The Daily Pick - DJIA  outlook published on 22 May ~



©DayTrading with Anni 2011 All Rights Reserved