The Mental Strategies of Top Traders: The Psychological Determinants of Trading Success

2.5. RECOGNIZING GOAL-DIRECTED INDIVIDUALS

Goal-directed individuals, or those traders who use targets to direct their efforts, will often demonstrate distinct personality traits. For instance, a goal-directed trader is often considered an achiever. He exhibits an almost insatiable drive to achieve something every day—including weekends and holidays. If he isn't achieving, he isn't satisfied. This internal fire pushes him to do more and provides energy to keep persevering without burning out.

These types of individuals are also tagged as focused. They have the ability to set a goal and doggedly stay on task, and this ability helps them filter out irrelevancies and to determine which actions will help them achieve their goals. Of course, there is a downside to this kind of determination in that these individuals are often impatient with delays and obstacles and frequently dissatisfied with their own progress.

Candidates who are goal-directed are also avid learners. They are energized by steady and deliberate journeys from ignorance in a particular area to competence. They thrive in dynamic work environments where they are expected to learn a lot about a new subject in a short period of time. Whereas this personality characteristic lends itself to goal-directedness, surprisingly, individuals like this can also have trouble actually achieving the result because they continue to delve deeper to learn more and fail to see the point at which it is beneficial to move on.

Some goal-directed ...