It's F1 season again in our tiny city state!

There's a very obvious buzz in the air whenever the races come to town. It might have something to do with those loud engines or the extremely loud music concerts. =)

Diversity

But nevertheless, everyone's excited! Even if you're like me and don't particularly want to watch the races from the stands. I prefer to catch the race on TV because I get the best angles and have an eye on the action all the time. More importantly, without the heat, squeezing with the crowds and the insanely loud music trying to make me deaf. Haha

This is similar to trading, in that there are so many different ways in which traders appreciate the markets. Some appreciate the short term fluctuations to make their money, while others prefer to rely on the trend. Then you have those who rely on trend reversals or long term investing. So in their own unique way, all traders appreciate this mechanism which we call the markets.

Benefits

Another thing which struck me, while observing the F1 race season, are the fringe benefits that come with the races.
– Huge concerts with the most popular music artistes performing
– Numerous over-the-top parties at the clubs all around town and
– Public transport actually got extended by nearly 2 hours to 1.30am

But what do any of these events actually have to do with racing?

Not much honestly, except Bernie Ecclestone's angle was to make the F1 more than "just a race".
It has become a modern version of a traveling circus, and a hugely successful one at that.

Like-wise for trading, there are numerous fringe benefits which have nothing to do with trading. While you are still at the mercy of the market open hours or favourable trading sessions, you have a lot more control over your time. No more sitting at the desk 9-6 just because you have to. You can take the day off any time to handle other matters whenever you want. You can set aside specific times to send your kids to school or pick them up after every day.

Sure you might miss trades, but how much would you pay, right now, for the opportunity to send and pick up your kids to and from school every single day?

If you have low commitments, and you like to travel, you can give yourself a work and travel project for any amount of time you desire.

And there are health benefits too! The constant mental engagement with the market, helps to protect you from becoming senile. (Well medically speaking, frequent mental engagement of any kind prevents senility, and also I haven't come across any senile traders before.. But they probably don't remember being traders... hmm. )

Consistency

Have you noticed that these F1 racers have to do numerous laps around the circuit instead of a simple flat out race to the finish line, one time around the circuit?

This is because consistency is a very good measurement of true skill and performance. Racing around the track once in a great timing could just be luck. However, racing around the same track 61 times(in Singapore), ensures that all the racers must do their best to perform consistently for all their lap timings and the best performer wins!

Similar to trading, a single home run trade does not make you a successful trader.

It's being able to pull money from the markets consistently which make you a true performer.

It's the goal of many traders to be able to pull money from the markets day after day, week after week, month after month.

But start off with reasonable expectations. Even the best traders don't pull money from the markets every single day.

Joy

The buzz in the air arises the anticipation of good times ahead!

We all enjoy the events and the atmosphere around the F1. So many events, just being around the marina bay area is great.

Special note: There's also another very special race event at the bay! Besides watching the F1 races, you can watch the pokemon races over at MBS while enjoying the music blasting from across the bay. (As a friend told me, the speed at which you see the pokemon group running, is directly related to how rare the pokemon is!)

The huge crowd tends to stay in the middle outdoor area where there is a musical water show. When rare pokemon appear, you will see the group rush towards the art science museum, or towards the marina bay residences side of the bay, and occasionally across the road to the hotel!

It's honestly quite a spectacle to see!

In trading we also need to take joy in our work.

It's an activity which can have many emotional swings between the high and low points. That's why we always make an effort to be as consistent as possible so we remain balanced.

But more importantly, we need to remember to experience the joy of our work. Being able to see the lighter side of things which happen around us or to us.

This helps us to keep a clear head and prevent us from getting boxed into a negative mindset which can be detrimental for trading.

Without joy in doing this activity, it is unlikely that you will last long in trading. Money alone is never a strong enough long-term motivator.

Enjoy the F1 season folks!

The post Watching The F1, Struck Me About The Important Things In Trading. appeared first on The Systematic Trader | Trading Courses | Collin Seow.