The need for control

I have noticed a strong theme in my character, personality, mentality and it`s connection to trading financial markets. It is the constant need and wanting of control. 

Now... control by itself is not a problem. It is a natural human behaviour and a healthy one. But healthy only when applied in the right context. There are different kinds of control and different contexts. When we talk about control, it is important to understand where it stems from and why. Fundamentally, just like with any other emotion or behaviour, the primary role it plays is to protect us, keep us safe and to serve our needs.

So what exactly is the reason for wanting and needing control? If we had absolutely no control, that would imply that we are at the mercy of everything outside of ourselves. Just swimming through life without any possible way to influence or change anything. Without the ability to improve the current state of anything. This would be a very grim world to live in. 

Control to some degree serves as something constant that we can look forward to. It gives us a feeling and reassurance that things can get better. Whatever these things might be. If we have some kind of control, we can take responsibility of the outcome. If the outcome is good or bad - we always have the option of improving and making things better. It gives us hope. And hope is a very strong human emotion. It is what helps us sustain ourselves in the darkest moments of life. We can always control ourselves and our behaviours. Many of the things we do in our day-to-day life have an aspect of Input->Output. If we control the input, then we can control the output. 

Because of this, I have a tendency to mainly expose myself to areas in life and environments where my input directly matches the output. Working out, eating clean, reading, studying... whatever it might be. The input always matches the output. This way I always know what to expect. I know that if I can control myself, then the results will come regardless of everything else. That`s the beauty of control. It has so much to offer to our lives. But not all environments are like this. And you definitely cannot assume that every single environment you put yourself in will have this type behaviour. For an example - you cannot force love by doing more. Sometimes it just is not meant to be. You can influence but never fully control other people.

And thus, here comes the important distinction and how it all is connected to operating in financial markets. The one thing you will always be able to control is yourself. Regardless of anything else. You can control your thoughts and actions. You can always do the best you can. But you will not always get the results that you thing you deserve based on your input. This is the critical step - one has to precisely understand what is under his control and what is not. 

When it comes to trading or investing - you can always control yourself. You can control how well you stick to a strategy. You can control and choose your own strategy and approach to markets. But the one thing you can never control is the outcome. A person can have a properly back-tested strategy, but that does not guarantee a winning trade. And here comes the next subtle distinction. You have the control over the outcome of a series of trades. Never over the outcome of a single trade. Your strategy over the long term is what defines your control over the results. However, if you look at results as the outcome of one single trade - you will never have an objective view on things. You will get carried away by emotions by thinking "I followed my rules and still lost. So i don`t have any control. The system doesn`t work. I need to change something, so that i never lose.". Keep in mind - it is impossible to never lose. 

Fate and fortune is a funny thing. It tends to play silly games with how your life and different things play out. Life itself is the never ending battle between control and the uncontrollable. And so we have to control what needs to be controlled and what can be controlled and let go of everything else. In the end - the only thing that matters is how you handle yourself. If you can truly say that you did everything to the best of your abilities... then the outcome truly is irrelevant. Because either way you could not have done anything better. And the outcome that happened - it simply happened. If it was meant to be... Then so be it.