Resistance is Futile!

Sean McLaughlin
January 5, 2023

Have you ever resisted something?

Ok, that question answers itself. Of course you have. We all have.

For our purposes today, I’m more specifically focused on the periods when we resist something that deep down we know would be good for us. Or the right thing to do. Or the intelligent thing to do. Or the helpful thing to do.

When nothing but goodness can result from taking a specific action, why do we resist it? Why do we willingly sabotage ourselves like that?

Author Steven Pressfield in his bestselling book “The War of Art” terms this “The Resistance”. Capital T, Capital R.

We all do it. And we often don’t know why.

This has been on my mind as tonight is this season’s first basketball practice for my 8-year-old son’s team. While that alone is significant, this season takes on even more significance for me personally because… I’m the Head Coach!

I’ve never been a head coach before in any sport, much less a sport like basketball that I know very little about.

My wife jokes: “What’s so hard about basketball? It’s just dribble, pass, shoot… right?”

Ha ha.

I didn’t willingly volunteer for this role. I was asked if I’d be interested and I politely declined. I resisted.

I knew it would be a good challenge for me, that my son would love it and that it would be good for him to see his dad as a leader, and that exercising new mental muscles could only benefit me (and him). But I still resisted.

Nevertheless, my wife geared up the social peer pressure machine, telling all the other parents that “Sean will do it!” And so – eventually – I couldn’t say no. Damn her!! LOL

Now here we are, about to embark on our first practice. I’ve spent the week gathering resources online, and put a practice plan in place, and, against all odds, I feel ready. Excited, even!

Let’s bring it home to our world of markets. What are some things you’re currently resisting in your trading?

  • Are you stalling in opening that tax-advantaged trading account?
  • Are you dragging your feet about hedging out your tail risks?
  • Are you finding it hard to sit down and focus on that trading book you’ve been meaning to read forever?
  • Are you fighting the urge to explore the “vast unknown” of new markets or new strategies to trade?
  • Are you feeling too shy or too scared to reach out to that potential mentor you’d really like to learn from?
  • Do you need to add/subtract capital from your account? What’s stopping you?
  • Are you being stubborn about your trading size when it would likely benefit you to either trade smaller or larger?

Resistance is everywhere.

But as they used to say on Star Trek – resistance is futile. Or at the very least, it’s standing in the way of you achieving great things.

Fight through it.

And then fight some more – because it never ends.

~ @chicagosean

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