It has been a little over nine months since I've been a professional trader. Needless to say I've had many bumps in the road, many trials and tribulations, but over all of that I think one of the hardest issues that many traders deal with including myself is the issue of isolation.  If you're trading from a home office like myself, it is often only you and your computer.  In the afternoon I work as a volunteer track and field coach so I get my social time there, but for many traders it can be hard for them to find a chance to have social interactions.  This often leads to a person searching the net for a chat forum which can be a devastating place a new trader.  

When I first began poking around the market (before I made the decision that this was what I wanted to do professionally) I was constantly in a Forex forum trying to get ideas and piggy back off of what everybody else was saying.  I would latch on to the most confident person in the room and assume that they were the best trader.  Keep in mind I had no clue who this person was or what they were talking about, but I figured they knew more than me so I better pay attention.  Needless to say there were so many contradictory signals and ideas that I made no progress at all trading. Even worse I didn't learn anything for myself and I began to feel dependant on the room.  Rooms are bad but they're also hard to avoid because home based traders often get lonely.  Speaking honestly, I wish I had somebody close to me that shared my trading style that I could bounce ideas off of and go over charts with.  Not that I feel I need a second pair of eyes to make a decision but simply a person to chat with and talk about the market with.  I fully admit that I have become a trading nerd. I'm also a sports junkie and I can compare it to being a football fan overseas. Meaning that you're one of few that actually understand the game and one of even fewer that want to discuss it.

The other day I watched a British documentary on trading and it felt so good to see people doing the same thing as me, going through the same struggles as I went through, speaking the same language that I speak.  Then it was over and I was back to my normal life of being isolated. It's hard, a part of me wants to join a forum just to be around others doing the same as me, but deep down I know nothing positive will come from that.  




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