“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.” — Tony Robbins

The single biggest mistake I see new traders make is believing in the principle of more is better. The more news the better; the more time frames the better; the more familiarity with multiple strategies the better; the more stocks the better. This kind of thinking actually distorts reality, not clarifies it. The more-is-better attitude is a symptom of not wanting to miss out, fearing that the market will move without us. This fear drives us to develop as many ways to read and understand the market as possible, thinking we can catch every move. We create our own Frankenstein monster, causing our trading process to spiral out of control. The fear of missing out leads to the monster coming back bigger and more powerful than before when we feed it more information. Realizing that the markets are too big to ever control is an essential first step in improving trader performance. To do so requires a focus on a particular strategy, or process, while accepting that we cannot be all things to all markets in all time frames. Successful trading is about making money, and it begins with a focus.

The following articles on focus may help each of us get a better grip on improving our trading performance.

“When you are focused on the outcome and you attach your worth to the outcome, you will find yourself very resistant to trying new things and putting forth your best effort. When you define your worth by your performance rather than your effort, you stop yourself dead at the starting gate.” (Margaret Paul, Ph.D)

“Traders need to be able to sustain focused concentration both to respond accurately to market movement and to access the knowledge and skills they have acquired.” (Brett Steenbarger: The Right Psychology For Successful Investing)

“The value of the entire financial news complex—both print and electronic—seems to be hugely misunderstood by investors.” (Barry Ritholtz: Lose the News)

“Understanding your focus style is essential for you to be able to manage it effectively. This process involves knowing how you focus best and actively focusing in a way that is consistent with your focus style. This ability to manage your focus style well is most important in pressure competitive situations.” (Jim Taylor: Understanding Focus in Sports)

“At the top levels of the trading world, hard-work and intelligence do not differentiate between successful and unsuccessful traders.” (Dr Doug Hirschhorn: Focus in the Face of Adversity)

“If only finding focus were so simple. With a tidal wave of information coming at us daily, focus is rapidly becoming the scarcest commodity of the 21st century. With this in mind, I’ve rounded up a handful of the best apps for fighting back against the constant distractions of our digital lives.” (The 99%: 10 Online Tools for Better Attention and Focus)

Focus keeps us sane while allowing us to develop the skills necessary to master a particular trading strategy. This is important if our goal is to consistently make money in the stock market.

Traders enrolled in CTU focus on a particular strategy for both consolidating and trending markets knowing that success is based on the process not the outcome.

David Blair

The Crosshairs Trader