Trader, Cricketer & You... Part 1

15. Mai 2020

Let me ask you one simple question.

Is trading all about buying and selling... greed and fear... profit and loss?

Or can we take some inspiration from other aspects of life too...?

In one of my earlier post we looked at Art of War & applied the principles of war to trading.

Today, I’m going to try & connect cricket with trading. Let's see if it can make a difference to the way you approach your trading...


Before we delve further into it, let us take a simple scenario…

Imagine one of world’s fastest bowler… let’s say Mitchell Starc (of Australia) is going to bowl… on a bouncy Australian pitch…

1. You put Virat Kohli on the batting strip and he would be like… Bring him on…

2. You put a newbie let’s say someone like Rishab Pant and he would be like… this is it… this is my opportunity…

3. Put me in those shoes and I might just be pissing in my pants…

You see the situation is same for all three of us… but it is what I call the PACMAN theory
(Preparedness, Ability, Capability, Mentality, Attitude & Nervousness handling )… that is what is going to define how we are going to perceive a situation…
I won't be able to discuss in details ( when I take up this topic in some seminars the discussion lasts 35-40 mins) but I will just summarize here

The way you look or deal with a situation depends on
- How well you are prepared for that situation…

- Rather than worrying about things that are limiting your ability; start focusing to discover what you are capable of… Remember you are capable of doing much better than what you are able to do.

- You just need to train your brain…. You need to work on your mentality.

- You need to have right attitude… If an optimist created an aeroplane that flies in the air; it is the idea of a pessimist to have safety oxygen masks in that plane.

- Let’s face it… we all get nervous at some point even after being well prepared. We all have bad patches in life. Ask yourself how you deal with it. Ask yourself another question… is there a better way u could have dealt with it. The answer to all your questions lies with in you. You just need to ask the right questions & peacefully think with solution oriented mind set.

Coming back to my analogy Trader, cricketer & you...

Playing gully cricket is one thing and facing World’s fastest bowler on a bouncy Australian track is a different ball game altogether…

When it comes to trading, the situation is no different…

- Many start with small capital (most of us have played gully cricket)

- Make some quick bucks and then (made some runs )

- Take on Superior Markets head on… ( Imagine something like facing Mitchell Starc without feeling the necessity to wear helmets, pads, and guard… )

We don’t do it in cricket... there is a selection process... even for that matter for a job in a Company there is interview & selection. But In Share Market, we all take it for granted... Ask yourself:

- are you selective in picking your trades?
- Do you ask yourself questions before you enter the trade?
- Do you try & read the situation?
- do you take in to account changing trends, changing times?

Ask yourself questions.Ask yourself what are the odds of winning trade... Can I improve my winning odds.? can I identify levels with better risk:reward ratio? It is up to you, your responsibility whether you want to upgrade yourself or just play the game as it comes...

Remember The Virat Kohli we see today is the result of years of hard work behind him…

We have also seen him gradually improve since his debut in International cricket when he use to make good 30s and 40s but was unable to take it further, getting out with rash shot selections… but now , he is regarded as one of the best batsman in the world especially while chasing a target.

We have seen him getting annoyed when he got out with a bad shot in early stages of his career and today, it is seldom we have seen him throwing his wicket away. It is the learning from the hits as well as mishits not just in nets but in real matches too, that has what has made, Virat Kohli, the player he is today… Improvised, Consistent and Confident.… When a player like Kohli is eager to learn from his mistakes and improvise the next time we see him bat... what stops us...can we not take a leaf out of his book...

You see whatever the profession, to excel, you need to learn, prepare yourselves, develop your ability, and be capable enough to deal with all the mental stress that comes with it... Once you overcome the barriers and are ready to learn, it may not guarantee 100% success but I can guarantee you that your perception of the situation will be different... you will be better aware of the pros and cons in every situation and decision making will be much improved...

If you are looking to trade on a serious note, then you need to give importance to continuous learning process, develop your mentality and improvise on your consistency over a number of trades... Remember opportunities will always be there, and it is up to us to protect our wicket ( Capital ) & be ready to learn from our experience to make a better shot (trade) selection next time...

:-)

Take care

- to be contd...