Heh heh heh, you guys and your constant referring to 'R o a S O's protagonist as Livermore or JL... his name is Larry Livingston !
Great example! I am wont to write one of my long-winded schizo posts here but instead I'll just steal from a more eloquent passage:
"Mistake #8: Trying to "Get Even" with a Stock
One of the big investor mistakes I've observed is that some investors, once they've taken a loss on a stock, keep looking for an opportunity to buy that same stock. Without realizing it, they become enamored of the stock simply because it has "done them wrong." Like an adolescent who's been beaten up, they are looking to "get even." "I'll show that stock," they say to themselves. By so doing they lose focus of what they are trying to do: Make money, not save face. There are thousands of companies available for them to invest in , so why do they keep coming back to a proven loser? The answer is, of course, ego. Ego is one of the most destructive forces that you can unleash on your investment performance, and we will take a close look at how it manifests itself in the next chapter, so you can recognize it. It crops up in everyone now and then, but when it does, you must resist it and think logically.
If you are fishing and a fish slips off your hook, do you refuse to pull in any fish other than the one that got away, from then on? Of course not - you throw your line back into the water in hopes of catching "a fish," not "the fish." It seems obvious when fishing, but unfortunately, many people's common sense goes out the window when it comes to the stock market. They keep gunning for that one particular stock, ignoring the other rich targets which abound around them. Thus, one mistake begets another.
Sometimes, people also return to a stock because they had such a good experience with it. They made some good money off this stock and so they have warm, fuzzy feelings for it. Again, this is not logical thinking unless the stock has recovered and is showing itself still to be one of the stronger stocks in the market.
Believe me, I know the feeling: I've had 4 (separate) trades on SIR, every one a winner. I've had 5 (separate) trades on TON, every one a loser. The overall profits from the SIR trades outweighs the TON losses. Now, which one do you think comes to my mind at night when I'm trying in vain to sleep? Yup, give the man a cigar!
What does that tell you about the effed up human mind that it places so much disproportionate interest on defeats/regrets rather than victories/joy? - (I don't believe my experience is unique). It will consume you.
Take BV as an example. Putting up hundreds of posts on stocks he claims he has no interest in - I defy anyone to tell me that is healthy behaviour. RE: AZK, go for it. My concern is not me - BC/AZK will do what it will do; my concern is you could end up heading down the path that BV/Ryan1 is on, and diverge from that path of self-mastery that you aspire to.
My whole uni experience was/is a forgettable affair. Always wanted to be a doctor. Some quirk of the system meant my whole school ended up failing English (I have never failed English in my life; it is a point of pride). Didn't get the marks required, nor did I want to go the deferred matriculation route. Signed up for Engo but chickened out for Economics a week later. Did not enjoy a single second of it (see the aforementioned negativity in prior post). Wish I coulda studied any branch of psych like you - I said as much to Fitza but botched that up royally: http://hotcopper.com.au/threads/oversold.2511147/page-160?post_id=15244546#.VVyZYZPDHfA , http://hotcopper.com.au/threads/oversold.2511147/page-191?post_id=15256321#.VVyZR5PDHfA
Nope, uni wasn't much help. Everything I needed to learn I learnt from reading my World Book encyclopaedia years prior, & from talking with my Mensa pals. Oh, and TV, TV is a friend that has never disappointed me (Bozz should get that reference, and also have a sly smile on his face about where you're going next).
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Tongue in cheek
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