3 Fears Triggered by Trading
Learning how to be a successful trader comes with many hiccups, learning experiences, and fears. What many fail to realize is that these fears stem from deep-rooted insecurities and issues that can date all the way back to when you were a child.
Fear is often triggered when something challenges us. This fear we experience is what can hold us back from becoming unstoppable in whatever we want to do.
Remember, at the end of the day, you can Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise! What are you going to do?
Fear of Missing Out
Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is when an opportunity arises that you are not involved in but want to be. In this case, many traders FOMO into trades when after seeing them make large moves because they want to get in on what everyone else is doing.
The fear of missing out is an esteem need. This is one of the psychological hierarchies that humans need to meet to feel secure in themselves and their decisions.
Esteem needs are ones that humans need to meet to feel a sense of accomplishment, confidence and strength in themselves, and most importantly a sense of social acceptance and respect from others.
FOMO is not a new phenomenon and stems back from the beginning of time. It is an evolutionary survival response. If you could gain the respect of others and were accepted into their group, you had a better chance of survival.
Now while FOMOing all of your money into AMC or Dogecoin does not necessarily mean life or death for you, the need to be included with others still plays an important role in who humans are today.
Fear of Failure
Fear of failure is what people experience when they try new things because they are afraid of failing, judgment from others, and not being the best immediately.
People who struggle with fear of failure often consider themselves a perfectionist and give up immediately if they are not the best at something. What is ironic is that to be the best, you must fail over and over again.
Perfectionism and fear of failure stem from someone who was taught to be overly critical of themselves and their actions. Whether it was from parents or teachers who made your self-worth feel like it was based on your accomplishments or kids who bullied you at school, trying something new can be very triggering.
I don’t care what anyone says, trading is HARD when you are learning. It is full of failures and is something that takes years of practice to become proficient. This is why 90% of traders fail. The way that trading challenges you mentally is something that many people cannot handle.
You can only lose so much money before you start taking it personally and putting yourself down. Not all, but many people who fear failure tend to give up quickly when things get difficult because they do not understand how to separate their self-worth from their accomplishments/failures.
Fear of Change
The fear of change is one that keeps many people from putting forth an effort to take their lives from ordinary to extraordinary.
Learning a new skill is hard, unfamiliar, and there is a possibility that it will not work for you. People who fear change tend to stick to what they know. Going outside of their comfort zone can cause extreme anxiety.
Humans love routine. It is safe and it is necessary for our mental health. When you have a routine, you know what will happen each day and at what times it will happen. You know what to expect, which deactivates your fight or flight response.
When you are experiencing constant changes, your guard starts to go up. Your fight or flight mode is activated and you start making decisions based on adrenaline instead of logic.
Trading is a perfect example of something that triggers people’s fear of change. Why? Because there is no such thing as routine in the market. You could do the most accurate technical analysis in the world, and the movement of the stock could still go against your trading plan.
That being said, when your money is in on a trade that you feel very confident in, you are going to be more likely to have your adrenaline kick in when the stock moves in an unexpected direction.
This triggers the fear of change and your fight or flight response is activated, meaning you are now trading with your emotions instead of your trading plan.
In conclusion…
Learning how to trade is not only an excellent skill to learn, but it teaches you a lot about yourself and your psychology. This can make many uncomfortable, as they are not ready to address the fears that are triggered by trading.
Understand that learning how to trade is a journey. When you can identify and overcome your psychological barriers and fears, you will increase your abilities as a trader.
The three main fears triggered by trading are:
- The fear of missing out
- The fear of failure
- A fear of change
Which fear do you feel you struggle with most? Let us know below in the comments!
