Why We Trade

Why We Trade
Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.

www.brettsteenbarger.com
Why do we trade? To be sure, trading allows us independence, the opportunity to
work for ourselves. Trading also offers the prospects of a lifestyle in which evenings and
weekends need not be consumed by work. Some of us crave the competitive aspect of
trading, doing fresh battle each day. Others approach trading as a puzzle to be solved,
deriving a sense of intellectual achievement. Finally, there is income. A successful trader
can make seven figures in a yearand many of the traders I work with are living proof of
that.
So why do they trade? Once you have the money, all of tradings lifestyle
advantages could easily be yours. Needs for competition and intellectual stimulation
could be met in so many other ways. Why do traders remain traders long after theyve
won the game?
Perhaps we can illuminate this question by asking it of practitioners in other
fields. Why do artists continue their craft long after they receive recognition for their
paintings, novels, or films? Why do elite Special Forces troops stay in units that test their
mettle even after theyve earned their coveted badges? A gifted athlete such as Michael
Jordan earned plenty of money and honors and, in fact, did retire on a couple of occasions
only to return to his game. Why?
There is something deep here that speaks to the nature of productive work.
People retire from jobs and even careers, but they never abandon their callings. For
some, work means something more than earning a living or achieving a lifestyle. Work is
their path in life. It is the way they have chosenor perhaps that has chosen themfor
self-expression and self-development.
Suppose the pastor of a large, successful church wrote a book, made significant
money, and promptly retired from the clergy and all religious life. What would that say?
Surely, we would think, this persons faith could not have been too heartfelt. But why
should our productive work mean less to us than the clergy means to a devout pastor?
Presumably, the religious life meets deep, important needs for the pastor. Is it really so
different for the artist? The athlete? The trader?
The great professions are those that serve as personal playing fields. They are the
arenas we choose to express and develop ourselves. In mastering a discipline, we
cultivate self-mastery. In writing a poem or placing a large trade, we capturein a single
actour vision of how we see the world at that moment. The great occupations are great
precisely because they are such meaningful playing fields. Long after weve earned fame
and fortune, the calling remains to be more than we are, to return to the arena and do
battle with our limitations. The profound urge to extend the human grasp is common to
all the great callings. To run faster, to capture more beauty, to predict ever better: in no
small measure, our work is our pursuit of the godlike, however fleeting.
Maybe it is our different images of the godlike that animate our career choices. If
my deepest view of godhood is that of a meek and all-forgiving Christ, perhaps I will be
drawn to an occupation of service. If my deepest view is more akin to the ancient
Greeks, whose gods sent heroes on quests, then my calling may be on a battlefield or a
playing field. Either way, in work we find something divine within ourselves. Whether
as scientists, monks, or traders, we strive for those moments when we are just a little
closer to perfection, a little nearer to immortality. That is why we trade.
Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D. is Director of Trader Development for Kingstree Trading,

LLC in Chicago and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. He is also an active trader and
writes occasional feature articles on market psychology for a variety of publications.
The author of The Psychology of Trading (Wiley; January, 2003), Dr. Steenbarger has
published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on short-term approaches to
behavioral change. His new, co-edited book The Art and Science of Brief Therapy is a
core curricular text in psychiatry training programs. Many of Dr. Steenbargers articles
and trading strategies are archived on his website, www.brettsteenbarger.com

Why We Trade

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Why We Trade

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Why We Trade

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Why We Trade

Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.

Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D. is Director of Trader Development for Kingstree Trading,

You might also like