When things don’t go as planned…
Monday, during the Watchlist Webinar for my blog subscribers, the webinar software lost audio and I had to interrupt the class to try varying solutions – all of which felt like a lot of wasted and lost time.
Tuesday, for seemingly no reason at all, my computer kept dumping my internet connection and kept me from another important webinar and away from communicating effectively with my students.
Though unanticipated computer problems are common issues for traders it did bring to mind that as much as I talk about having a plan and sticking to the plan, building a routine and using that routine to our benefit, there are times when things simply do not go as we intended.
This happens to everyone at some point, yet each time it is as much of a surprise as the the last, as though we’ve actually come to expect that contingencies just shouldn’t happen simply because we believe they shouldn’t.
Although this week didn’t start as I’d planned, or as I’d liked, it was a great reminder to me that we live on this extraordinarily dynamic planet and that we are developing human beings in a highly volatile market. Sounds like a recipe for disaster if you’re one who cannot roll with the punches!
With this in mind it was easy for me to say, “Well, Plan A didn’t work out. What will plan B look like?” It wasn’t hard for me to decide, actually. Since the highly logical Plan A, for some reason was unavailable to me, I immediately went to the opposite direction and looked to the creative. I practiced piano and guitar. I finished reading a book and did some yoga.
Ultimately, it ended up being a highly productive day for me in ways that I didn’t even know I needed. I felt refueled and energized. It made me realize that I’d been given a gift with what seemed, initially, to be a rude interruption of my intentions. Because I was able to embrace it having the unexpected time away from my computer was used it to my advantage.
Yea for me (this time), but that hasn’t always been easy for me and I know it is not easy for most. It seems that the precise moment we feel like we have everything under control is the setup for a lesson that proves we are merely taking part in the Life that moves around us…we do not control much at all.
Traders, who deal with so many levels of risk (Market Risk, Economic Risk, Interest Risk and Political Risk just to name a few) know this better than most. We make money and lose money based on the whims of too many outside forces. But with purpose, practice and presence we can learn to control ourselves and by so doing we can learn to find what is just right for us, in any condition.
So, tell me… how do you handle it when your plan or routine falls through? Is it easy for you to switch gears or do you find that yourself fighting to make the plan work? Is there ever a time when you’ve noticed the strenght or weakness in that tendency reflect in your trading?
Triffany Hammond helps traders of all levels, gain the tools, resources and guidance necessary to build on their strengths and work around their weaknesses so that they can make the best possible decisions for themselves in the Forex Market. Triffany is a regular speaker and contributor at 
She practiced piano and guitar read a book and yoga ??? Does anyone know that position ? I think I’d better cross off “productive” from my diary entry !!!
Hi Triffany,
You are right, some times it really doesn’t work out the way we planned our tasks. Many times Plan B is also not helpful. If it due to something unforseen and could be bad planning, I remember not to overlook in my next plan. I also look at in different angle, how much time or money that I am going to loose on this. I also treat this as opportunity and use that time to spend with family and children. If I recognize this happened due to work overload on me and I have not planned well, in trading terms, I treat this as I am away from 800 SMA for many days or months and hence it is time to to be with me in silence and in meditation or listen music to recharge myself.
I always accept what I am today and look for opportunity to improve in all tasks that I do.
Happy Trading.
Mohan
Aby, you make me laugh.
Mohan, you bring up a very interesting point about the unforseen and taking the lesson forward.
I feel, like you, that in most cases, once the lessons have been learned that the moment can still be viewed as an opportunity. Just because it wasn’t the opportunity we’d planned for doesn’t mean that it isn’t exactly what we need at the moment.
Great insight, thanks!