Whenever I’m considering working with someone, I always ask a series of questions. One of the questions I ask is “Why are you trading?”
I bet it wouldn’t shock you to find out the number one answer is “I want to make more money!” which is the wrong reason by the way but I accept it and continue on.
My follow up question is “Why do you want to make more money?”
There are often multiple responses to this one but after further questioning , for most people, it boils down to two things, “I want money because it will make me happier” and/or “I want money because it will make me secure” . Again, both poor reasons for wanting money and this is why.
Money and the things money can buy, do not make people happy long term. Yes, getting an increase in income, having more stuff and seeing more money in your bank account may feel good temporarily but before you know it you’ll be back to your old self, only more so. Therefore if you were unhappy and insecure before, you’ll end up even unhappier and more insecure after your “success”.
Nowhere is this more evident than with the very rich and seemingly very successful people who are so unhappy and so insecure that they literally kill themselves. Most recently Robin Williams RIP 🙁
You see money is not a happiness generator, it is an amplifier. Money (and fame) will take whatever unhappiness and insecurities have and amplify them. When you trade “for the money”, it’s like a drug. You make money and you’re feeling great temporarily but as soon as the newness wears off you feel worse. So you think you need more money. And the more money you get, the worse you feel and the worse you feel, the more think you need it. I’ve seen “financial success” ruin more lives than I care to think about. It’s really an awful cycle.
So what do we do? We must now realize that both happiness and security do not come from money, they come from within.
We must learn how to be happy and secure where we are, right now. And then follow through with the decision to be happy and secure in order to allow the great amplifier of money to amplify our happiness and security rather than our unhappiness and insecurities.
If we wish to improve our income, we must realize that money is a byproduct from doing something we love not something that should be sought after directly. Therefore IF trading is something you love then go for it, because you love it, and realize the money will eventually follow. This is the reason to trade and this is the path to being a happy and secure, successful trader.
For more information on becoming a happy and secure, successful trader, visit www.lockeinyoursuccess.com
John Locke
Risk Disclosure
No relevant positions
3 Comments on “Be Careful What You Wish For”
Had someone i know awhile back say “i don’t want to be rich, rich people aren’t happy” I didn’t really respond to it but i was thinking “what does being rich half to do with being happy or not” There are poor people that are happy/sad rich people that are happy/sad. If you have the basic needs covered your happiness doesn’t change much(read/heard/watched that somewhere).
Happiness for me is about becoming the person who you want to be and doing the things that you want to do. It is not about doing what other people in your life THINK what you should be doing. It’s about following your own path and finding your purpose in your life.
Before my first trade or before i knew about trading/investing it was about the money. The concept of “make money work for me” interested me but that isn’t why i stayed with trading/investing for so many years. Even if i had all the money that i wanted from trading/investing i would still be at it because for me it’s more than the money. It’s what i live to do.
For me trading has always been about the freedom and control that I have over my time and income. Money is the means and the end goal is more time to do the things that make me happy and spend with the people I care about. Great post.
Is very true. Keynes wrote that people can demand money for transactions, precaution and speculation, but never for happiness. The problem is when we associate >transaction=>happiness, wrong!