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I have noticed that as a Trader becomes more experienced and grows in terms of skills, the more private He/she becomes or wants to become. They stop posting their trading results unnecessarily, some even don't talk about trading at all! hell, some even about the markets! (unnecessarily)
I think the reason for this is that trading becomes an expression of the self and hence personal, and logically, nobody goes around talking about or sharing their personal stuff. Being private ends up becoming a matter of common sense and natural. Anyone with the same experience or thoughts or disagrees?
I think most people come here initially because they are looking for help with how to trade or how to become a full-time trader. Sometimes people like to brag about all of the money they made (usually on SIM) but are silent when they lose money. Some people want a place where they can be held publicly accountable for their trading, which is why the journals, when used properly, can be a great tool for an up and coming trader.
I've been a member here for 10 years and I used to be a frequent poster early on, maintained an online journal here for a couple of years, published charts with my entries and exits, even posted my brokerage statements time to time just to prove I wasn't full of B.S. but I don't think that matters anymore: I don't need the approval or adoration of other traders here so I don't need to prove anything to anybody. I have done webinars and will continue to do more when I have something new or interesting to present.
So I don't post here as often as I used to, probably because I've kind of found what works for me and I'm not looking for advice or intervention to fix my bad habits. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot I still want to learn, the markets are always changing, and I'm certainly not perfect, but today I enjoy just hanging out to talk about trading if the thread interests me, or provide some help/advice to someone that is struggling with what I used to struggle with. It's not really a privacy thing, especially since I run a meetup of traders in my area, rather, it's more that the reasons I explained in the first paragraph, for me, are not reasons to come here anymore.
This is natural, and quite common. Trading is ultimately a tool for self-discovery, as is everything we do.
Experienced traders develop discipline and intuition, both of which are inward processes. Privacy gives us space to reflect, and allow us to condition these skills. As we gain mastery, there is generally less of a need to talk about the process- unless it's to teach or help others. Mostly, you're just comfortable doing your own thing.
I am quite young in trading world, I have been trading for only 3/4 years now.
At the beginning I was always talking about it, with friends and family. In hindsight that was a bad sign: if you can talk about it with a friend that all he knows it's support / resistance and trend lines.... well maybe if he can follow what you says, you are still a beginner.
After some years my trading style become extremely more complicated, and I cannot really explain it in simple terms. Also it becomes more technical, and the nice "game play" that I saw at the beginning now are more normal, after you see them again and again.
So in a sense I sort of feel there is nothing to talk about.
Then there is the big taboo topic: money.
I live in southern Spain, where the average salary is around 1000 Euro per month (1200 USD more or less).
I cannot tell somebody that I made an operation that gave me that same amount in one hour, it would be unrespectful.
I don't want to brag about it, and I don't want anyone to know how much I make.... so I just avoid the topic.
Also when I mentioned the topic in the past, a lot of people wanted to "try", thinking that it's an easy job. It took me so much effort and I lost so much before becoming "slightly" profitable, that I don't suggest this path to anyone.
Most probably want to keep their poker cards private. Why would you give the market an advantage over yourself? But I agree, giving yourself accountability through journaling is incredibly helpful. As you progress it does become harder to find someone who shares the same hurdles. I'm not an expert, but I'm definitely at the point where I have all the rules under my belt. I just need to perfect craft and craft is hard to put into words.
I don't talk about trading in real life. It's my job. It's what I do. I talk about other shit like lifting, golfing, mountain biking, running, rafting, etc. I chat about trading here because I enjoy talking about trading. I've put everything I have into it for 10 years now. I have a lot to say but it usually takes someone asking me a question to get me talking.
i think full time traders are private not because they are hiding the secret sauce, but because what we do can't be done by many people. It is a place where your mind goes and that is hard to tell people. My family asks all the time how things are and they are genuine about it but the answer is always good why because they don't understand things at this level. The only time normal people think about the markets are when they see a huge drop" dow down 1000 pts" other then that they don't care.
-P
"Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie"-Miyamoto Musashi