Knowing How to Stop in Order to Perform Better
Without question, Roger Federer is considered one of the best tennis players in history. Last July, he proved it again by winning his eighth Wimbledon tournament and his 19th Grand Slam title, setting two new records. Most impressive is certainly the fact that he achieved this feat at 35 years old, a fairly venerable age in this sport. How to explain such a performance?
In early April, Federer announced that he was taking a break until mid-June. The Swiss player declared that he would not participate in any clay court competition, not even the prestigious French Open, in order to rest and prepare for Wimbledon, a grass court tournament that he is particularly fond of. As mentioned above, almost half of his victories in the Grand Slam tournaments were achieved on the lawn in London, whereas he won only one career title in the French Open. So a fresh and prepared Roger Federer showed up for a challenge that offered him an excellent opportunity to shine, using an uncommon approach that proved to be an advantage.
Know thyself.
Surely, active traders can be inspired by Roger Federer in order to increase their probabilities of success. On the one hand, knowing that stock exchanges are open all year round, many mistakenly believe that it is crucial to keep up to date with financial news, economic data, quarterly company results, financial analysts and the evolution of stock prices so as not to miss an investment opportunity. Since active trading is very demanding on a psychological and emotional level, it is important to take regular breaks to replenish one's energy.
On the other hand, when we start trading, we are looking for the magic formula to become rich. We try a variety of trading methods draw from fundamental analysis and technical analysis, without having tested their effectiveness beforehand. For this reason, I urge you to keep a trading log that includes the following information: the type of strategy used for each trade, the overall success rate, average gain and average loss per strategy, your impression of the quality of your performance and points to improve. Through this exercise in introspection, you will be able to target strategies that are best for you; that is, those that best fit your personality and are most beneficial to you. At the same time, you will eliminate less profitable strategies, which is essential to optimize your chances of success.
Those wishing to learn more about the importance of managing energy, maintaining a trading journal or establishing trading strategies will be interested to know that I am holding a drawing on September 30 for a place in one of the two training sessions that I will be offering (in French) in Montreal and Quebec City this fall; L'essentiel pour négocier activement à la Bourse and La gestion du risque et la gestion émotionnelle. To participate in the draw, send me an email at info@michelvilla.com with your answer to the following question: Among the top 100 tennis players in the world, what is the name of the oldest?