{"id":10453,"date":"2011-03-17T11:13:16","date_gmt":"2011-03-17T15:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?p=10453"},"modified":"2023-04-10T17:34:34","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T21:34:34","slug":"goal-setting-a-conversation-with-chicago-sean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/goal-setting-a-conversation-with-chicago-sean","title":{"rendered":"Goal Setting: A Conversation with Chicago Sean"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Sean has become a daily must read since he burst onto the StockTwits Blogosphere. \u00a0An experienced trader\u00a0through many markets earns my ultimate respect immediately. \u00a0I want to read what he has to say. \u00a0Trading is a very difficult job. \u00a0Many can’t. \u00a0And many fewer can’t through different markets.<\/p>\n

Chicago Sean tackled the important topic of goal setting the other day. \u00a0A trader sent me a link with a blurb about Sean’s take being different than ours. \u00a0I am not sure that was the case but I love clarifying a conversation started. \u00a0 We have written recently about challenging our younger guys to set a goal of making 1k<\/a>. \u00a0Sean blogged:<\/p>\n

However, here in goal-setting is where my problems began. In setting an arbitrary goal, I automatically set\u00a0expectations<\/em> that I would achieve it and would therefore measure myself against these expectations which I more-often-than-not-failed to meet. And then I\u2019d feel terrible and spiral in and out of mini-depressions because of it. And of course, I\u2019d press. I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019d be up $450 for the day and then almostly desperately lunge at trades with terrible risk-reward setups in an effort to make that last $50 to put me over the hurdle \u2013 only to give back $350 and end the day up $100 \u2013 or worse. And the flip side of this was the countless times I banged out of a trade going my way because I hit my \u201cdaily profit target\u201d only to watch that position continue a parabolic move in my direction that would\u2019ve made my entire week (or month!) if I had just hung with it for another 30 minutes. Nothing kills the psyche of a developing Trader more than this. And I was insanely guilty. I had no discipline.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Arbitrary goals are certainly not effective. \u00a0Goals just outside of your current ability can be very effective. \u00a0Making poor risk\/reward decisions to hit a number is certainly an example of bad trading\/goal \u00a0setting. \u00a0 Becoming discouraged by your results and not most valuing the process is not the best mindset. \u00a0Not using that disappointment to trigger an added intensity to your trading work is a missed opportunity. \u00a0 To hit your goal requires a hyper focus on One Good Trade and then One Good Trade and then One Good Trade (I hear there is a book on this topic \ud83d\ude42 ).<\/p>\n

Some of what I said above may seem contradictory but it’s not. \u00a0This is just a very nuanced subject. \u00a0Setting goals is necessary. \u00a0Setting goals outside your comfort zone is elite performance 101. \u00a0Valuing your daily improvement over results is the proper mindset. \u00a0Becoming angry at underperforming can be very helpful if you use this as fuel to work harder<\/a> on your game. \u00a0 Setting goals but not getting the most out of this process can cause a trader set back. \u00a0And finally certain goal setting may not just work for certain personalities.<\/p>\n

Goal setting outside of your current reach starts the process of that trader doing everything they have to do to hit a number. \u00a0They visualize the trades necessary to hit this number. \u00a0They review their work and focus on what was required to hit that number. \u00a0They talk with other traders searching for plays that would help them hit that number. \u00a0They consider adding size to the plays that make the most sense to them so they hit that number. \u00a0They are armed with confidence that they can hit that number because an experienced trader has told them they can. \u00a0 When I stopped our exercise<\/a> for this path to 1k most were disappointed.<\/p>\n

A blog is a place to start a conversation. \u00a0Perhaps you have a different take than me. \u00a0Perhaps you have a different take than Sean. \u00a0Awesome. \u00a0As long as we are getting you to think about your trading and expose you to different ideas than we have hit our goal.<\/p>\n

Mike Bellafiore<\/p>\n

Author, One Good Trade<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago Sean has become a daily must read since he burst onto the StockTwits Blogosphere. \u00a0An experienced trader\u00a0through many markets earns my ultimate respect immediately. \u00a0I want to read what he has to say. \u00a0Trading is a very difficult job. \u00a0Many can’t. \u00a0And many fewer can’t through different markets. Chicago Sean tackled the important topic of goal setting the other … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1675,358,30,81,1193,653],"class_list":["post-10453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mike-bellafiore-bellas-blogs","tag-chicago-sean","tag-goal-setting","tag-prop-trading","tag-smb-training","tag-trader-education","tag-trader-training","no-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\nGoal Setting: A Conversation with Chicago Sean | SMB Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/goal-setting-a-conversation-with-chicago-sean\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Goal Setting: A Conversation with Chicago Sean | SMB Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chicago Sean has become a daily must read since he burst onto the StockTwits Blogosphere. \u00a0An experienced trader\u00a0through many markets earns my ultimate respect immediately. \u00a0I want to read what he has to say. \u00a0Trading is a very difficult job. \u00a0Many can’t. \u00a0And many fewer can’t through different markets. 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