“You get what you want from the market.”

This is a famous quote most of us have probably heard.

Is it true?

Likely.

Is it helpful? Absolutely.
What if we can nudge this idea a little further? Most of the time we say something like ” but I want to win! Why am I not winning?”

Well, this is the complexity of the market. We have no choice about what we get, only what we want. If I want to win, but I lose, I will likely create in myself behavior and mindset that repels what I want. The reason is, because I cannot control what I get from the market.

Therefor, I must turn what I want from a desire where I cannot control the outcome, to a more sophisticated want. One where I always get what I want from the market because it is in line with how the market works. In this way, I can create in myself a set of actions and behaviors that are in line with both what I want AND what I can get.

Let’s follow this out for a minute.

If I want failure, I find failure.
If I want pain, I find pain.
If I want self-flagellation, well, there is plenty of room for that in the market as well.

None of us want those things. Maybe we do, in some way but we’re unaware.
I think, we likely need to uncover those things but we may not be able to change them in ourselves. We will need to uncover them and find a new expression for them. Then, while in the market, replace them with a better, more aligned want.

What needs to happen, instead of solving all your problems is to work with them.

I like work.

I like the hard work markets bring about. The hard problems are very interesting. The issue with this is, I want to solve problems in the market. I want to work at those problems. So, I do. It typically goes very poorly when I do this. It’s my biggest downfall.

Seems like a fine trait, right?

It’s not. Not in a world where problems always exist. In a world where consistent action is best, where creativity is a weakness. Markets will eat the “hard worker”. Problems are solved outside of market hours. Once the market opens, you must simply execute on the idea/strategy/plan you created. Win or lose, you’ve got to take what you get from what you made before the open.

What if I change what I want?

What if, to better serve my desire to work, and to win, I change my active trading want to ” I want information so I can act correctly”?

We can all do this, no matter what the want is we bring each day.

Transition your want and you transition your actions.

If I want information, I can no longer lose. I always get paid.
In information. This information can, over time, be turned into money.
The funny thing about that, I don’t even want money.

I want freedom.

But, I can want information, which will get me money. That money can then be turned into freedom.

So, it’s not uncommon to want one thing in order to get another. We don’t need to change what we really want, potentially. We simple need to figure out what wants will bring about the most productive results for our true desires.

The wants clash.

The wants clash. What is that?
This is an idea I consider often. It’s when you have two wants, likely unknown, that fight one another.

For instance, you want to make money in the market but you don’t want to lose money.

Well, that sucks. You’ll never win if you can’t lose. You have to find a way to reconcile those two ideas to one another.

What is my wants clash?

I want to work, but I also want freedom of time.
They clash when, I work and don’t get results, taking from my time.
The two wants clash in a big way.

I don’t have the answers.

I only put this out as a potential thought stirring exercise.
I have no real desire to teach this to anyone or to find a solution to your problems. I simply say it as an expression of my own searching for understanding.

Right now, I want to go ride my bike. So that is what I will do.
While I didn’t get paid from my interaction in the market today, I got paid in information. Very valuable information. Not just about the market but about my system, myself and the platform I trade with. I did that without offering up what I really want, my freedom.