A Dozen Reflections on Life and Markets

Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.

www.brettsteenbarger.com
I've never seen a trader succeed whose explicit or implicit goal was to not lose. The trader who
trades to not lose is like the person who lives to avoid death: both become spiritual
hypochondriacs.
No union was ever destroyed by a failure of romance. It is the loss of respect, not love, which
ends a relationship.
Love, once present, never dies. It must be killed.
Sometimes we select markets--and trading styles--much as we choose romantic partners: by their
ability to validate our deepest-held images of ourselves. Our choices generally succeed, for
better or for worse.
Many a trader fears boredom more than loss, thereby experiencing the two in sequence.
Goodness of character is measured in loyalty to others; greatness of character is measured in
loyalty to principle.
A measure of the soul: the degree to which the surpassing achievements of others evoke
inspiration rather than envy.
If you listen to the words, you'll understand the brains of the speaker. If you listen to the tone,
you'll understand his heart.
Show me what a man loathes, and I will show you what he cannot accept in himself.
Two traders: one increases size after a loss; the other gets smaller. Both continue to lose.
One encounters losing traders as often as one encounters losing golfers--and for much the same
reason.
The absence of self-acceptance too often masquerades as the desire for self-improvement.

Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D. is Director of Trader Development for Kingstree Trading,

LLC in Chicago and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. He is also an active trader and
writes occasional feature articles on market psychology for a variety of publications.
The author of The Psychology of Trading (Wiley; January, 2003), Dr. Steenbarger has
published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on short-term approaches to
behavioral change. His new, co-edited book The Art and Science of Brief Therapy is a
core curricular text in psychiatry training programs. Many of Dr. Steenbargers articles
and trading strategies are archived on his website, www.brettsteenbarger.com