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Dr. Steenbarger follows his own advice

If I as a coach am not pushing myself to grow and develop, then my efforts to help others evolve are fraudulent. I cannot offer others more than I can achieve myself. To take myself to the next level as a psychologist, I need to pursue challenges that will bring the best out in me.

Remember this: Your growth always lies on the other side of your discomfort. Whether it’s in the weight room or in career decisions, you’ll never develop yourself by staying in your comfort zone. People don’t become old when they reach a certain birthday; they become old when they decide to live life without crossing that line of discomfort.

"This time is different"

The longer a given condition or trend persist and the more comfortable we get with it, the more dramatic the correction will be when the trend fails. This does not mean that you should try to catch tops or bottoms. Only fools believe that they can be consistently lucky in fading established trends. But when a trend ends, prices often overshoot in the opposite direction.

The crowd may be stupid, but they are stronger than you. Crowds have the power to create trends. Never fade a trend. If the trend is up, you should be long or on the sidelines. Never sell short, because “prices are too high” – never argue with the crowd. You don’t have to run with it – but you should never run against it.

The most expensive 4 words in the world are “This time is different”. The underlying reasons might be different, but the psychology behind all booms and busts is always the same.

Good to Great

“I’ve found over the years that much of what separates  the excellent traders form the average ones is not so much their ideas ,but what they do with those ideas. Two traders will have positions go their way and then pull back a bit. The first trader, anticipating punishment, fears losing his gain and takes a quick small profit. The second trader, anticipating reward, adds to the position on the pull back and reaps large gains. Same idea, different outcomes, all as result of conditioned patterns of thinking.”

Dr. Brett Steenbarger