On Friday night Netflix hosted a boxing extravaganza starring Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson. There’s a lot of opinions about the age difference and the readiness of these two great athletes. However, what really caught my attention were the three matches leading up to the main event.
I particularly enjoyed the women’s matchup between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, best fight of the night. I mean there was so much life force in these two athletes, and even with a massive cut eyebrow, I witnessed Serrano throw everything she could to her Irish opponent.
The score was super close, and the final winning hand went to Taylor, much to the dismay of the crowd and the commentators. This even became the topic on the main stage from the two athletes. What I’ll say is this, even though many think Serrano was robbed, she had a very high-level response to the situation. She knew that her opponent tends to do certain things, like head butts, so she wasn’t surprised when they happened, even though she didn’t love them. Serrano also knew that she would give every ounce of fight that she had left, she would “die in the ring” if she had to.
And while trading markets is not exactly a bloody boxing match, there are a lot of similar tenets that we should continue to employ here in the second half of Q4 2024 and beyond.
#1 FOMO is Real, Plan Ahead
The fact that I, Hima Reddy, spent 4 hours watching boxing this weekend, along with millions of other non-boxing fans, tells you that Netflix did a fantastic job of making this a feature event. I knew everyone would be talking about it on social media and frankly I didn’t want to be left out.
It’s easy to see how FOMO arises for pop culture events like this, but it’s important to realize it pops up in trading all the time. And you need some rules and guidelines to keep you from getting sucked into the drama.
I recommend spending some time at the end of each year looking ahead. Put an asterisk on any emotionally charged days – birthdays, weddings, family holidays. Also the not so bright side, like remembrances, divorce meetings, medical procedures, or anything super heavy like that that you are aware of in advance. That way you can see them coming and not experience FOMO if you decide not to trade at those times.
Again, I’m not saying you have to take all these days off, I’m just saying you are in control of when you get into your trading ring and don’t fall into this notion that that needs to be every single day. Think about Serrano and her bloody eyebrow. She can’t go fight tomorrow until she gives her chance of a body a chance to recover and get stitches on that wound. So whether you win a fight or lose a fight in a day of trading, it’s okay to bake in the time to rest and recoup.
#2 Build FOMO Reinforcements in your Trading Plan
When you out on a great trade setup, whether it’s from actual hesitation or the market just moving super fast, you’ve got to build checkpoints into your trading plan so that you don’t go chasing the market and getting a non-ideal entry with too much risk.
For me, the main factor is that I always have alternate analysis pathways. So for example, if I didn’t get it in my ideal price level, I have a very specific way that I get in on the next time interval. [I’d share more details here, but it would ruin my Black Friday plans for you – I’ll revisit it after the holiday sale.]
The important thing is to have those checkpoints in the plan, so that you’re not having to rely on yourself to have massive self-control in the moment.
#3 Use Your Corner for Trade Management
As the Taylor-Serrano matchup showed us, while there are rules, they get bent. And you can try your hardest, but trades won’t always go in your favor. The setups you have that could be your most tried-and-true will not work a hundred percent of the time.
So you need to be prepared to protect yourself and have your corner of the ring ready to do that. In trading, that protective corner is a trade management plan.
–>>It starts with a maximum amount of risk pre-determined for the trade setup per your account size.
–> And then if the trade starts to move in your favor, you’ve got to be willing to lean in and trail your stop. Otherwise, you’re not going to get the most out of that round in the ring.
–> However if the trade doesn’t go your way, your max risk is clear, and while you may get a cut to your trading account, it won’t have to be a nasty wide wound that impairs your trading vision.
I’m no boxing expert, so don’t come for me about whether Serrano is valid in feeling that she should have won over Taylor. My point is that you can watch a boxing match or the trading action unfold, think you have everything lined up in perfect order to be able to call the winner, but there are a ton of factors that can come up and change that. You will not be able to control that in any trade or any sport. So it’s important for you to set up your plan of protection.
Now go get ‘em!
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