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Why Short-Term Solitude Makes You a Better

Thinker

6 min read

Jesse Livermore is considered the best stock trader in history. He was the
main character of one of the most famous books on trading,
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, published in 1923.
Livermore is mostly known for taking short positions before the 1906 San
Francisco earthquake and before the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Those two
trades made him a fortune and gave him the respect he still has by the
investment community.

But that’s not the only reason Livermore is celebrated today. He was a
true pioneer of stock trading, just like Benjamin Graham was of value
investing (the investment philosophy that Warren Buffett relies on).

Livermore brought his profession to a new level in the early 21st century
by dedicating his whole life to trading. His habits were unique for his
time.

He had laser focus from 9.30 AM, when the market opened, until 4 PM
when the final bell rang. In an interview found in the latest edition of his
book, How to Trade In Stocks, he gave the following advice to traders:

“Keep stress at bay—act in all ways to keep the mind clear and your
judgment correct. I did all I could to achieve this in my physical life by
going to bed early, eating and drinking lightly, taking exercise, standing
upright at the stock ticker, standing while on the telephone, and
demanding silence in the office. I spoke to no one on my way to work and
kept silent about my stock market actions.”

But this doesn’t mean he followed his own advice all the time. While he
was a successful trader, he also went bankrupt three times. He also
suffered from depression, and eventually took his own life in 1940.

I’ve spent a long time studying the life and philosophy of Livermore. As a
stock investor, I identify most with value investing, but I believe it’s
important to study speculators as well. That’s how I found Livermore
several years ago.

The interesting thing is that many traders are still influenced by

Livermore. There’s a series of books about successful traders called Stock
Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager. Those books show how many
successful modern traders relied on Livermore’s ideas.

And people are still applying his ideas to stocks, futures, commodities,
and even cryptocurrencies. While you might not be a trader; there’s one
thing Livermore did that’s useful for every single person. And that is to
add more solitude to your life.

Solitude encourages independent thinking

A big part of Livermore’s philosophy was to rely on your own thinking.

He always wanted to make his own decisions and hated stock tips that
came from others. He wanted to take full responsibility for his actions and
make his own decisions. He said:

“My main objective was to protect myself from unwelcomed bad influences
—in particular I was trying to avoid anyone who might be inclined to offer
me assistance in trading the stock market by giving me some information—
in the form of a tip. Tips were the one thing that had done me the most
harm in trading the stock market.”

Other people influence our opinions and thoughts all the time. And as a
result, our decisions and actions are also influenced by others.

Becoming an independent thinker is one of the most important things you

can do in life. When you think for yourself, you’re always open to other
people’s opinions, knowledge, and input—but you always form your
final judgment.

It gives you a sense of freedom and personal responsibility. When you

make a decision that doesn’t turn out great, you don’t blame others. You
also don’t blame yourself. You simply made a bad decision. But at least
you did your own thinking, which will help you with your next decision.

Solitude helps you focus on things that matter

Thinking takes time and energy. It requires going back and forth on your
ideas. It requires looking at problems from different perspectives. But we
hardly ever make time for thinking. Most of us are constantly interrupted,
so we don’t even have the chance to think. We just decide. No wonder we
make so many bad choices.

That’s why Livermore spent so much time in solitude. “I needed

continuity of thought. I needed to be able to have more than 15 minutes of
uninterrupted thought,” he said. Livermore even took rigorous steps to
avoid people on his commute to Wall Street:

“I either travel to the office by car in silence and isolation or by my boat in

the better weather, also in silence, with no other passengers—this gives me
a chance to read the newspaper and plan my day. If I travel by myself I can
continue with my thinking without any interference in implementing my
plan for the day.”

The key to becoming a better thinker and decision-maker is to give

yourself more time. It’s not complicated. We just have to spend more time
alone. But in our fast-paced world, we value quickness over quality. We’re
always surrounded by other people’s voices; whether that’s a friend, co-
worker, or someone talking on a podcast or audiobook.

We often can’t solve our challenges because we don’t spend enough

thinking about the solution. We either act too quickly or don’t have the
mental energy to spend time on our challenges.

“How much is too much alone time?”

Though solitude is important, we shouldn’t overdo it. Research shows

that loneliness increases the probability of cardiovascular diseases. And a
New Zealand study that followed 1,037 individuals from birth to age 26
also concluded that social isolation negatively impacts overall health.

This could have lead to Livermore’s downfall as well. He struggled with

depression most of his life, and he made things worse by becoming a
recluse. As social creatures, we should avoid that fate.

That’s why I suggest short-term solitude. But how do you do that? First,
figure out how much time alone is beneficial to you, personally. You can
learn this by asking yourself the following questions:

1. What happens if I’m surrounded by people all the time?

2. How much time (in hours, days, weeks, etc.) am I okay being
surrounded by people?
3. What happens if I’m alone all day?
4. How much time am I okay being totally alone?

Figure out how you respond in certain situations. And use your answers
to figure out how much time alone you need. For example, I use my
morning ritual and evening ritual as my alone-time. No social media, no
meetings, no calls, etc.

Just yourself, your thoughts, and your personal journal or a good book. It
takes some time and experimentation to figure out how much solitude is
beneficial. After a period of being surrounded by people, I often like to
spend one or two days fully alone. Since I’m mostly an introvert, that
works well.

Another effective method is to challenge yourself by doing the opposite of

what you usually do. If you’re an extrovert, just spend an afternoon alone.
If you’re extremely introverted, spend less time alone and go out more
with family, friends, or acquaintances. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Solitude makes your judgment authentic

Give yourself enough uninterrupted time and space to think. We have to

process a lot of external information that influences us. There’s nothing
we can do to change external influences if we want to be a part of society.

By adding more solitude and listening to our own thoughts, we can come
up with authentic ideas and judgments that are a product of the outer
world and the inner world.

That process could be as simple as spending at least 2 hours alone per

week with your notebook. Just sit and try to work through your
challenges. Make notes. Think about different scenarios.

And most importantly: Rely on your own judgment. It doesn’t matter

how good your judgment is—what matters is that it’s actually yours.
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