the last bug in the trading software

(excerpts from Trading in the Zone)


"a state of mind, or perspective is like software code.

you may have several thousands of lines of perfectly written code
with only one flawed line or character.

this one flaw
in relation to the rest of the code
could ruin or alter the performance of an otherwise perfectly written system.

the solution appears simple:
fix the misplaced character and everything runs smoothly.

however, finding the error
or even knowing it exists
can take considerable time and expertise.

when it comes to the ideal trading mentality
everyone is a certain psychological distance away.

virtually everybody starts out with flawed software.

as your perspective shifts
and/or you integrate new beliefs regarding responsibility and risk,
this shift would be the equivalent of finding
the flawed line or character in your mental software
and replacing it with something that works.

this internal shift is often described as the “ah ha” experience......

typically you might think

“it was right in front of me the whole time, i just didn’t see it”,

or

“it was so simply why couldn’t i see it?”