Nostalgia. A sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.
It seems like I was just sitting here writing 2016’s farewell: To The Fools Who Dream.
Same computer, same room of the house, one year older, ten years wiser. At minimum.
The year 2017 served in many ways to be my personal initiation in adulthood. Maybe a hazing would be a better way to describe it. The year flew by, but took forever.
I am ten times the trader I was last year at this time. Over a decade in the markets now and it just hit me that I possess a skill that very few have. It didn’t come without sacrifice and a whole lot of help from others. It’s a powerful feeling to know that you could take everything away from me, and I would be able to make it all back and more as long as I had a brokerage account and a computer. And my trading team lead by the best market mentor out there. No ego in that statement, just truth.
While I was sharpening my trading skill set, I was dealing with the stresses of daily life that plague us human beings. The difference being, I didn’t handle them very well at times. I fell victim to a negative mindset and went through a period of burnout. All roads were leading to pissed. I’m bouncing back.
I let the usual suspects upset me: News headlines, mass shootings, not feeling good enough, etc. Beat up, burnt out, chewed up, spit out.
About the time you start feeling sorry for yourself, life reminds you there is someone out there, maybe even someone close to you going through the same thing, or worse. Reminds you that life is damn short and you’d better get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’.
I am thankful that my genetics blessed me with the right makeup to realize real fast that negative nancy is no way to live. It’s just not me.
In what I would call a “trying” year in many ways outside of the markets, it became clear that mindset is everything. It’s all we have. And a positive one will trump a negative any day of the week. No matter the hand we are dealt, it is our choice to find the good in any situation.
I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. Never have, or at least never really stuck to one. But a very simple one for 2018 I think we all can benefit from is to remind ourselves to look at every situation with a positive eye. No matter what.
With that, I want to thank each and every one of the readers of this site. I wish you all the very best life has to offer in 2018. Talk to you soon.
OC