You know you’re in a rut when you think
Murphy’s Law is true. It’s never the case that everything is going
wrong, but it sure can feel that way at times. (I mean, sayings
like “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” cannot
feel reassuring.) Some things may go wrong at times, but many other
things are going right. It’s just a matter of remembering this fact
and realizing that things could always be worse. That said, there
are times when your mind is focused solely on the negative. Rather
than look at both the good and the bad, you may feel badly and
dream of how things could have gone better. But again, you can’t
let a pessimistic mood get you down.
If you are in a challenging profession, setbacks can be expected,
and you cannot let setbacks get the better of you. Trading is
surely competitive. It is not the case that people are personally
out to get you, but other people are involved and they are
certainly trying to take care of their own agenda rather than help
you, but you can’t take it personally. It’s just business. There
are three key strategies that you can use to persist in the face of
adversity: (1) Cultivate a fighting spirit, (2) set up an
alternative reward system, and (3) focus on the process not the
prize.
It is vital to remain realistic, and ready to face setbacks head
on. Youthful exuberance is useful. Young people are often naïve and
optimistic, but this state of mind can do wonders to pick up your
spirits. Believing that you are omnipotent and can do anything is
naïve, but believing this fallacy for just a minute picks up your
spirits. Sure, you can’t do anything you want, but you can probably
do a lot more than you think when you are feeling beaten down. The
key is to have a fighting spirit. Rather than focus on how life has
beaten you down, it is useful to look on the bright side and
appreciate what you have. You might as well think, “I don’t care
what happens. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to keep fighting
for what I want. I would rather try hard and fail than sit on
sidelines and wonder what might have happened if I had just tried
harder.” By cultivating a fighting spirit, one can look at setbacks
as minor, commonplace events and take them in stride.
Setting up an alternative reward schedule will provide more
consistent rewards and allow you to persist even when faced with a
series of setbacks. Reward yourself after putting in a fixed amount
of time (the end of each day, for example). Buy yourself a nice
dinner or do something you find enjoyable. By patting yourself on
the back for your efforts, you'll consistently feel satisfied with
your profession, and stick with it. Many times we put in time and
effort to achieve our goals, but the world does not reward us.
Indeed, we may try hard and put in a heroic effort and actually
receive punishment for our efforts. People may criticize us
unfairly or someone may beat us out just because they had
connections that we didn’t have. Life can be unfair at times, so it
is vital to reward yourself for your efforts rather than wait for
others to reward you. If you did a good job, you should feel good
about it. Who cares what other people think.
Finally, it is essential to focus on the process, not the prize.
Many people are driven by money, power, or prestige and when they
don’t get any of these things, they feel like a failure. But
rewards are never guaranteed, so it is much better to do what you
like and feel the intrinsic gratification of having fun doing what
you like. By focusing on intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, rewards,
you'll feel more comfortable and creative, and do better in the
long run.
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