Overcome Learning Obstacles in Trading

Now, as a trader, you want to make money, right? And you want to be able to do it consistently and comfortably. And the thing is, there's something that a lot of traders run into that they're not even aware of. And it really. I mean, you don't want something blocking your ability to make money, right? Well, there's one thing that. And this came out of a conversation with a coaching client that I had the other day, because we were talking about how, you know, he wanted to start off in options, and that's where he started with his. With his trading career. And we were talking about how options really, I mean, they can be super simplified, but for the most part, options, especially if you're selling options, it's kind of a sophisticated way to trade compared to, you know, other methods. And just because you have so many different other variables and considerations when you're trading options, again, trading options, you can wind up with, you know, a fairly complex strategy. You got, again, you got all the Greeks, you got other factors come into play that you don't have to worry about with other types of trading. And so for him to start at that point is not uncommon. But where you run into this. See, years ago, when my daughter was little, when she was about three, about three years old, and I would read to her every night. She, of course, you know, would memorize the books or, you know, Dr. Seuss and that kind of stuff. And what we ran across or what I ran into with her was, you know, I'm reading the story to her, and she starts saying the story right along with me, and I'm like, hey, you know, you. You go ahead and read it. It's like, no. And I'm like, huh, okay. And I keep reading and she starts, you know, saying the story right along with me. And. But every time I would ask her to do it, you know, to read it, she would get all defensive. She didn't want to. And I'm like, this is weird. And so I looked into it and I found this book, and it was called Obstacles to Learning. And the guy talked and the author talks about how there are three specific obstacles that somebody has to learning. It interferes with your brain process that they also have a physiological effect, but you need to recognize them, because if you're trying to learn a particular topic and you don't address these, they will continue to stay in your way of being able to mentally get your head around something that you're learning and be able to effectively apply it. And so this is perfect for traders. But I found that this is applicable everywhere. Anyway, so I, you know, I read the book and he talks about these three obstacles and, and all three of them are pertinent to traders. But this one in particular I want to, I'm going to cover so that you know, if you've done the same thing or you're experiencing the same thing so you can get past this. So, okay, so the first obstacle he referred to as a lack of mass. And that's where, you know, you're trying to learn about something. Let's say, you know, you're talking about a torque converter in an engine or, you know, in a car. And if you've never seen or heard of a torque converter before, you know it's part of the transmission. If you've never seen or heard of it before, I can talk all day long talking about it. But if, and you might, you know, get, understand it to a certain point. If I can show you pictures, that's even better. But if you can actually have the thing in front of you and see it in operation, that's where you'll actually really have a good understanding of it. So if you don't have the mask, the thing in front of you, that's going to be an obstacle. The more abstract something is for you, the more, the more difficult it will be for you to fully grasp what that's about. Okay, so that was the first obstacle. The second obstacle was jumping ahead on the learning gradient. And that's where he's talking about if they're, you know, what you're learning has a certain progression to it. It has certain foundational part, you know, parts or concepts and you, you know, you kind of skip over some of that and you go straight to, you know, higher level stuff. It's going to be really tough for you to really fully understand what you're working with. And so, I mean, for example, if you're trying to teach somebody math and you know, of course you have to learn what numbers are and then you learn counting and then you learn addition and subtraction before you ever get to multiplication and division. Well, if, if all you've done is teach somebody how to count and you go straight to division, they're going to struggle with it. You can talk about it all day long, it's going to be tough. But if you take them through the progression, it'll be a whole lot easier for them to learn. And the third obstacle is misunderstood words, which is huge. And the way it happens in your brain, if somebody says, or if you read A word that you just plain, you can't sort out what it is based on the, you know, the word itself, you know, the word roots or the context of the statement that it's in, that's going to leave like a blank spot in your head. And so with my daughter, it was like, okay, I figured out, well, I'm using words that she doesn't understand. And as soon as I explained to her what the word word means and read and letter and all this kind of stuff, that night, boom, she took off and read the whole book. It's like, wow, okay, there's some validity to this. And I've learned, especially with traders, making sure you understand all the words and terms that you're using, of course is critical, but jumping ahead on the learning curve. This is the one I really wanted to focus on here because so many traders I'll talk to and it's like when they first start trading, they want to jump straight to basically interlevel intermediate level trading. And then they're struggling and having a hard time with it and, and wondering why they're, they're struggling. Well, if you, if you don't get a good foundational, you know, basis to operate on, you know, learning the basics and all the basic skills that you need besides just placing trades, you know, following a strategy and placing trades, there are other skills that you need. Well, if you don't have that solid foundation, it's going to be really tough for you to have, first of all, a full understanding of things. But it's also, additionally, it's going to be even, it's going to be tremendously tough to have the level of confidence that you want and of course, you know, the effectiveness and getting the results that you want. And so it's super important that you make sure you get that good solid foundation where you have all the skills, you understand all the words, what they actually mean, not just, you know, okay, I've heard it and I understand how it's used. It's like, no, you actually understand what it means. These are critical because trading is a mental game. It is one where you're mentally processing things. And if you're running into these learning, you know, obstacles to learning, they're also obstacles to functioning. And so if you find that, you know, you've been struggling with certain things with your trading, maybe this is what you've been running into, especially like I said, not having that good solid foundation and you know, where maybe you jumped into it and you're trying to operate at a level where you've been, you know, you're missing some of the foundational stuff, that stuff that can stay with you for years until you get it sorted out or get some good help. And so I've run across several traders and this is exactly the feedback that they've had for me is, yeah, Brian, you know, you've given me that good solid foundation now. I really, I feel like I have a solid handle on all this. My emotions have calmed down. I'm trading, you know, very confidently, very calmly. I don't feel like I have to chase anything anymore. And so when you have that, you know, when you're operating from a position of strength, that's a whole different experience in your trading rather than one where, you know, you're hoping that things work out and you're basically operating, you know, with a certain level of anxiety all the time because, you know, subconsciously, you know that you're missing some of the, you know, foundational stuff. So anyway, if you've, you know, if you think this is, you know, what's been going on with you, well, make sure that you attend to, you know, getting those foundational skills, that foundational training, the perspectives and understandings that you need to really be good at this and have a full grasp on it. Because again, until you do, it's going to be rough and it will continue to be an emotional experience. Just because mentally you're trying to deal with something that you don't have full, you know, full solid handle on situation like that, it's, it's going to be almost impossible for it not to be an emotional experience. But when you take care of this now, your emotions will calm down because you have a solid handle on it. Everything gets very clear. You can operate from a position of calm and strength and knowing and you're just, like I said, you've got that proficiency and competence where, yeah, now it's fairly easy and, and it's no more difficult than in, you know, any other job that you might have had, which is cool. And that's where you want to get it to. Not where you're fighting with your emotions and all that kind of stuff. It's like, no, because that's, that's a battle that you will eventually lose. So anyway, I hope that's been helpful. If, you know, if you'd like, help like this, you know, with your trading, swing by Inside out trading dot com. I've got some free resources for you, help you understand, you know, what's actually going on with your trading. You know, fill in some of the gaps as far as the training that you've received so far and, you know, just make your life easier and better and more profitable as a trader. So, again, I hope this been helpful. You know, if you again, if you'd like to, you know, have some help, get access to free resources, swing by insideouttrading.com you can even book a call with me if you want. We'll get on, we'll get on a call like this, we're on the phone, talk about your situation, see what's going to hold you back. If you also, if you enjoyed this video, make sure you subscribe to the channel and, you know, share this with your friends. Give me a like down below. And again, I hope this has been helpful. We'll talk to you soon. Cheers.