Post feedAn Interesting Correlation...
Ever watched the reality TV show "The Contender?" If not tune into ESPN on Tuesday nights. I have watched this show since it's inception last year. I am a boxing fan, and loved the premise of this show. I get home from basketball last night and access the recording of last nights episode via TiVo. All the first round fights have come and gone, and the fight last night was between Walter "Two Guns" Wright versus Cornelius "K9" Brundage.
In my opinion, "K9" who was lucky to be there, was the least skilled fighter of the litter. He is one of the strongest, if not the strongest person in contention though. His strategy was to get into his opponents head and to shake their ability to focus. His opponent Walter, was near the top of the list in skill. He had a lot of confidence, very finesse, and knew how to win fights. He was very good at what he does.
So in the episode, K9 spends most of his time talking about how bad he is going to beat Walter. He is getting in his face, making demeaning remarks, and doing whatever he can to get into Walters head to get him "off his game." The show did a great job of depicting how bad the two hated each other, and how their hate was going to go beyond a boxing match, but was making itself out to be a brawl.
Before the fight, Walter is talking with one of the managers there, and the manager is trying to get Walter to focus on his own strengths. Walter is the better fighter by a long shot, and as long as he goes out and executes his gameplan, he will win the fight. However, his execution doesn't go as planned.
The fights last 5 rounds. It was clear from the get-go, K9 came out and tried to bully Walter. He would try to hold him down, push him around, basically doing whatever he could do to prevent Walter from getting into his rhythm. Although K9's skill looked ridiculous at times, like he mentioned at the end "It wasn't pretty, but I did what I had to do in order to win." While Walter, who ended up losing, admitted to changing his strategy in a post fight interview. Rather than trying to win the fight, he let his emotion get the better of him. K9 was able to get into his mind and change his focus from winning the fight, to hurting his opponent in hopes to make him respect his ability. The further he strayed from his gameplan, the worse the fight was to watch.
I started to relate this to trading....like I do everything else. What happens when I try and change my strategy and deviate from what I know that I am good at doing? Imagine what happens when I forget the bigger picture of why I trade, what I need to do to get the job done, and what I need to do to accomplish my goals. I start to lose.
In closing, never lose your focus. Don't change your rules to try and outsmart or outwit the opposition. If your system is strong then it will gradually take you to where you want to be.
With that being said, Master Talk is coming up here pretty quick. I'm still trying to hammer out a presentation. We'll see what happens.
In my opinion, "K9" who was lucky to be there, was the least skilled fighter of the litter. He is one of the strongest, if not the strongest person in contention though. His strategy was to get into his opponents head and to shake their ability to focus. His opponent Walter, was near the top of the list in skill. He had a lot of confidence, very finesse, and knew how to win fights. He was very good at what he does.So in the episode, K9 spends most of his time talking about how bad he is going to beat Walter. He is getting in his face, making demeaning remarks, and doing whatever he can to get into Walters head to get him "off his game." The show did a great job of depicting how bad the two hated each other, and how their hate was going to go beyond a boxing match, but was making itself out to be a brawl.
Before the fight, Walter is talking with one of the managers there, and the manager is trying to get Walter to focus on his own strengths. Walter is the better fighter by a long shot, and as long as he goes out and executes his gameplan, he will win the fight. However, his execution doesn't go as planned.
The fights last 5 rounds. It was clear from the get-go, K9 came out and tried to bully Walter. He would try to hold him down, push him around, basically doing whatever he could do to prevent Walter from getting into his rhythm. Although K9's skill looked ridiculous at times, like he mentioned at the end "It wasn't pretty, but I did what I had to do in order to win." While Walter, who ended up losing, admitted to changing his strategy in a post fight interview. Rather than trying to win the fight, he let his emotion get the better of him. K9 was able to get into his mind and change his focus from winning the fight, to hurting his opponent in hopes to make him respect his ability. The further he strayed from his gameplan, the worse the fight was to watch.
I started to relate this to trading....like I do everything else. What happens when I try and change my strategy and deviate from what I know that I am good at doing? Imagine what happens when I forget the bigger picture of why I trade, what I need to do to get the job done, and what I need to do to accomplish my goals. I start to lose.
In closing, never lose your focus. Don't change your rules to try and outsmart or outwit the opposition. If your system is strong then it will gradually take you to where you want to be.
With that being said, Master Talk is coming up here pretty quick. I'm still trying to hammer out a presentation. We'll see what happens.
Good presentation last night. I always appreciate the "pep" talk in relation to psychology. You're right...keeping the game plan the game plan is key. There are times to take bigger risks, but taking them when your original game plan is falling is not the time....emotion emotion emotion. Tough stuff sometimes. Didn't get all the way through last night though...east coast guy here...eyes started closing around 10:30 my time. But again, I appreciate the time you put in. Its always helpful.
Thanks,
Ed
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Anonymous |
9/07/2006 06:39:00 AM