Investing and Discipline

Discipline in investing means that an investor needs to do the work of creating a plan and needs to have a strategy, follow his own rules, and carry out his own trading transactions like clockwork. Out of control investing means that an investor is allowing his emotions to get in the way. Why should a stock that he purchased just last week, is now twenty percent down? Perhaps, the investor wants to hold onto it because he believes it will go back up.  It is possible that a week later the same stock is might be twenty or fifty percent down and the investor still might not be sure of when to sell. If he does not position definite rules for getting rid of the losers and holding on to the winners, he still needs to improve on disciplined investing. Ultimately, a few words about endurance and persistence. Remember that it requires patience to take on all the homework to choose the right stocks. It requires patience to allow the winners to run. Persistence is necessary over time, for the reason that no matter how skilled you become in investing, there will be times that you, just like anyone else, even the real experts, will have obstacles. Investing involves all the skills needed by anyone who likes so stand out in a specific area or field. Any other area or field you like to be successful in involves study, focus, concentration, discipline, tolerance and persistence. This is what makes the difference between a great participant and those who are hardly ever successful.