In which Rogue Traderette lines up to see Santa.
When people first sign up for the whole trading gig, they usually front up with a wish list. Like a kid coming to Santa, it is dotted with our most far-fetched, wildest dreams, then padded out with a few smaller (but still important) stocking fillers.
Things on the list tend to be”goal items”, like a new Ferrari and a yacht moored in Mauritius. And alongside those things you’ll find things like working boss-less, more free time, flexibility, luxurious holidays – and although we won’t say it out loud, there’s always the hope for a bit of the “I’m so cool ‘cos I’m a trader” factor. We want freedom, with attitude.
So we present our list, (after checking it twice) and get down to business. We do our home work. We socialise with other traders via various forums, read trading books, plough through 500 charts every night, watch 17 different business channels, and subscribe to 137 trading blogs that are religiously read before breakfast.
We work hard to make our list become a reality.
The funny thing is, we work so hard that we actually end up destroying many of the valuable things on our list. We work so hard, and commit so much time that the very thing we want most disappears. Freedom, and its mate flexibility.
I’ve spoken about my biggest wish list item previously – it’s holidays. I want lots and lots and lots of them. But I work so hard that I don’t take them. I go away and take my laptop with me. I travel to see friends and find myself squeezing in some charts before breakfast.
I’ve designed my trading life to be flexible, and it is. But trading in a different location is not a holiday. Trading, sitting under a palm tree with a cocktail next to you is not a holiday. Yes, it’s nice – but it’s not a holiday.
This year, I’m taking a holiday.
Well, I Think I Am.
I’m actually finding it incredibly difficult to commit to No Trading over the Christmas holiday. Why is it so damn hard to physically remove ourselves from the market? Why do we find ourselves so ensconced in our work that the very reasons we chose this career come a poor second to the work itself?
It’s stupid. And when I say “stupid”, I mean it. Not taking holidays is dumb.
The market isn’t going away. There will be new opportunities there the minute we turn our attention back to the market. Don’t we deserve to have a break?
The trouble is, most traders love what they do. They wouldn’t do it otherwise – it’s a self-selected, self-directed career. It may be that we don’t feel like we need a break, and we enjoy our work so much that we don’t want to stop.
Seriously, we need to get a life. Trading is not real. Yes – it’s challenge. Yes – it’s fun. Yes, it’s stimulating.
But so is the World of Warcraft*. Don’t be fooled – everyone knows that staying home playing computer games all day every day is a sad, sad thing to do, and trading is not that much different.
Real life happens outside, away from our screens. We need to make the effort to have a life – to have real holidays, having fun with real people. And who knows? We might have such a lark that we come back complete with plans for the next one.
*I have never actually played the World of Warcraft. I googled it – I promise.
Comments on: "Why Trading is Like The World of Warcraft." (10)
I know what you’re saying about needing a true break away from trading to stay mentally healthy and to actually enjoy life but i know in my case, trading is basically a ‘hobby’ that I am passionate about. I enjoy it so much, like you by the sounds of this article, that it is what i do in my downtime as well and i don’t see it as unhealthy at all.Like everything, find a balance but why stop doing what you enjoy!
Writing this while sitting on the train home from my 9-5 job, you don’t know amazing sitting under that tree with a cocktail actually sounds right now!!
Keep up the good work writing and Tweeting
Thanks Dane! If trading is a ‘hobby’ and not a full-time job equivalent, that is a bit different like you say. For me, it’s my ‘job’, and I reckon like any other job a holiday is really important. Whether we like it or not! lol
Hi Jessica, Trading is not like a job, it is like owning a small business. The buck stops with you so if, depending on your style, you need to commit an hour a day while on vacation, that is okay in my book. It can give you peace of mind for the other 23 hours. Also, it makes coming back that much easier because you have a pretty good idea of where things are.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing in my opinion.
Kapil
Hi Kapil, I agree that in trading the buck does stop with you. But the buck also stops with you when it comes to your family, your health and your general well-being. Like you say, 1 hour probably doesn’t hurt, but for me one hour will invariably turn into two…I just keep finding stuff to do!! I also know that my kids and husband love seeing me away from my laptop – it’s as much for them as it is for me.
I guess the bottom line is that every trader is different and there are many ways to trade. The goal is to find that balance between work and family. Enjoy Bali Jessica!
[...] Peletier, “Real life happens outside, away from our screens. “ (Rogue Traderette via [...]
Hi Jessica,
I too have been guilty of not taking actual holidays in the past. But that was another time. Now I have learned that not being able to disconnect from work (even if it’s a passion) might be harmful in the long term. Therefore, allow me to suggest the following : disengage gradually.
Try not to do things you usually do when working. For example, what you do every day is you watch many charts or read several blogs. Don’t. Instead, you can read a book about trading when going to the beach or to your friends’. Maybe you don’t re-read your global trading plan every day so maybe the holidays are a good period to do that. Reassess.
To help you do that, you could also go to a place with no Internet or where connecting is expensive.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck with it anyway
Thanks for the advice, great ideas! We’re going to Bali next year so that’s 10 days of no internet which is great – funnily, I don’t miss it at all when I’m overseas, it’s more of an issue when we’re just visiting family or doing something ‘normal’. Reading trading books is fine, no-one minds that…I just miss my pretty little charts
Hi Jess,
I like what Richard Branson says in “Screw it lets do it”:
“You never know what you’ll find on a sunny beach…On holiday, I found my very own desert island and an airline.”
and:
“I went to Jamaica. It was part holiday, part work. I swam in a warm sea. I sat on the beach. I listened to some great reggae bands. Then we heard a new kind of music. It was made by local DJs and radio jocks, who were known as ‘toasters’. It was a kind of early rap, so I was in at the start of something big. Jamaican musicians won’t take cheques so I signed up almost twenty reggae bands and some toasters from a case filled with cash. We went on to sell lots of records with them. It was a perfect example of my motto – have fun and the money will come”.
He says a lot of his great ideas came to him while relaxing on a beach.
Thanks for your post.
Regards Craig.
I tell you what Craig – I can’t wait to have a break. All of a sudden I’ve just crashed! We drive out of here on Thursday, and I’m just really looking forward to having some reflection time. I know I’ll come back refreshed, and ready to take on the world again!