Trading Psychology  |  NOV 1998

Midlife Trading by Adrienne Laris Toghraie

Perhaps you've reached a point of success in your trading when suddenly you lose interest. Why? “Nothing’s wrong. I’m doing fine. Really.” Jon responded to my questions in such a way that his answers were encouraging — but if everything was fine, why was he calling me with such urgency? On paper, everything was fine. He had come a long way from his early days as a young and wild-eyed trader. He and his family lived in a beautiful home in the Chicago suburbs, his children were preparing to go off to college, he had a solid marriage, and he had plenty of money in the bank. Who could have a problem with that scenario? Jon did. At 49, Jon had fought the trading wars and won. He had once risked his entire capital base, including his first house, his car, and money he had borrowed on a single trade that had, luckily, gone his way. “I wouldn’t dream of doing anything that stupid anymore,” he told me, somewhat wistfully. “Then why are you here?” I asked. “Do you want to reach the next level of your trading? Have you reached your ceiling and want to break through it? Are you beginning to break your rules? Have you suddenly lost energy? Are you suffering from stress or burnout?” I went through the standard list of problems, but Jon kept shaking his head. “I guess I’m just hitting a midlife crisis,” he told me. “Nothing’s wrong, and that’s the trouble. I have nothing to worry about. I need to know that there is something else.” Jon looked as though he had come to the end of his trading career.

by Adrienne Laris Toghraie