The Mental Strategies of Top Traders: The Psychological Determinants of Trading Success
by Ari Kiev
Chapter 3. "Fire in the Belly": The Ability to Take Appropriate Risk
Competitiveness is what former MLB general manager Frank Cashen called "fire in the belly." Competitiveness is that burning, inner need to win—not simply winning the game, but to win with every move the player makes on the ice/court/field. The competitive individual wants to score, wants to assist, and in short, wants to do everything possible to beat the opposing player as a key means of gaining personal gratification. It is somewhat separate from aggressiveness in that aggressiveness is simply the desire to hit. Competitiveness is the overall desire to win—to win with skill and/or to win with aggressiveness. In trading, competitiveness and risk-taking are two traits that go hand-in-hand. Truly competitive traders realize that in order to win they have to manage risk successfully.
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