Atraderisneverreallyoffduty.Whentradingisyourprimarylivelihood,researchingnightsandpracticingonweekendsisanormalpartoflife.Butthatdoesnotmeanyoushouldn'ttakeabreak.Steppingawayfor1or2days,orevenaweekjustcouldbethekeytokeepingyourtradingbusiness-andyou-ingoodcondition. Alltoocommonly,though,tradersrejecttheholidaysothersgrantthemselves.Inmostworkenvironments,employeesenjoytwo-orthree-weeksoffayear.Inthemeantime,"tradeaholics"pridethemselvesonstayingconnectedtotheMarket,stillcheckingtheirchartsfromanoceanfronthotelroomorEuropeangetaway. Ifyouthinkyouwillmissoutonsomecriticalmarketactionduringavacation,thinkagain. Hereare5reasonsyoumusttakeabreakfromtrading: - Youwillliveforlonger.TheFraminghamHeartStudy,adecades-longstudyintothecausesandriskindicatorsforheartproblems,foundapowerfullinkbetweenholidaysandlongevity.Evenaftermakingallowanceforaconsiderablenumberofotherlifefactors,peoplethattookmoreholidays,livedthelongest.Goonholidayonceormoreayearandyourpossibilityofdeathfallsbytwentypercentcomparedtopeoplewhokeepworking.
- Youwillhelptheonesyoulove.Thereisatremendousamountofresearchtosupportthefactthatpurchasingexperiences-likeaholiday-increasescontentmentmorethanpurchasingpossessions.Thememoriesofthoseexperiencesalsolastmorethanthesatisfactionwegetfrompurchasinganautoorflat-screentelevision.Thinkaboutyourownadolescenceforaminute:Areyouabletolistallofthepresentsyouweregivenforeachbirthday?Likelynot.
- Butitisverylikelyyoustillhaveclearmemoriesoffamilytripstakendecadesback.Areyoumakingthosememoriesforyourownyoungsters?Travelreinforcesfamilybondsbymakingsharedmemories.Aholidaynowisaninvestmentinyourfamily'sfuture.
- Youwillcomebackamoreeffectivetrader.Mosttradersareconstantlytryingtoimprovetheircraft.Yetwecangetstuckinrut.Thebestwaytogetanewpointofviewistogetaway...refreshyourbrain,andcomebackwithanewcreativeperspective.Thatsuggests,atleastaweekoff(notaquickiethree-dayweekend)andNooccasionalchecksoftheMarket.Onlywhenyou'veclearedyourgreymatterwillthereberoomfornew,innovativeconceptstobloom.
- Itcankick-startyourtradingplan.Doyouhaveatradeplan?Ifyouarelikemanytraders,theanswerisanembarrassed"no."Itisoneofthosethingsweplantogetaroundto,butultimatelytypicallydonot.Atradingplanisnotsomehypotheticalexercise.Itisapracticalcomponentforsuccess.Yourtradeplanwillactasananchorwhenyouarerockedaboutbyaseriesoflosses,orgetcarelessfromastringofwins.Aholidayistheidealtimetogiveyourselfarestandthencomebackfocusedonplanningyourtrades,andtradingyourPlan.
- It'llputyourdaytradingintosomekindofperspective.Manytraderskeepcheckingthemarketwhileonholidaysimplythruobsession("Ineedtoknowwhat'sgoingon")orfear("Imightmisssomething").Knowthis...majortrenddaysmayhappen,andyoumaymisssome'greatmoves'.Butyourtradingbusinesswillnotcrumbleifyoutakeaweekoff.
Notrader'slong-termsuccessissetbywhatoccursoveroneweek.Timeoffmayhelpyoutoseethatyourlifeiscomposedofmuchmorethanjusttrading.Hopefully,itwillalsoconfirmthatyourtradingisactuallysomethingthatbringsgreatsatisfaction.Ifthatisthecaseit'llmakecomingbackfromholidayamuchlesscomplicatedexperience. BestofSuccess! AdamHalpern IndicatorWarehouse,President P.S.Iwrotethisonmyfamilyvacation,aftereveryonewenttosleep.
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