The Trader's Pendulum: The 10 Habits of Highly Successful Traders

Chapter 13Habit #10: Add Balance to Your Life

Just five minutes into the telephone conversation with Danny, one of my coaching clients and an institutional trader, I knew I had to give him immediate attention to salvage his trading career.

Danny was in the beginning years as a trader, and was eager to seek career advancement. He would wake up early in the morning to catch up on events that might affect the market. When he traded, he focused 120 percent of his energy on trading. That was when he rode the emotional roller coaster, fixed his eyes on the computer screen and his body on the office chair for hours, and got the endorphins and adrenaline overdose on a daily basis.

His day never ended with the market close. His team would have a lengthy end-of-day meeting, during which everyone's daily performance was scrutinized by the team lead. This somewhat helped the traders to grow as they were accountable for their trading results, but the pressure was suffocating. In addition to that, the meeting would extend late into the evening. Any form of social life or leisure activities after work were out of the question. And there was his own overzealous daily review, post-mortem, and detailed logging of every trade taken.

Danny would read news on financial sites and do market recaps, study materials prescribed by his team lead, and spend the remaining hours brushing up on trading skills.

By the time all this was completed, it was far into the night. He could get some rest, and the same ...