Try to be as flexible as possible, and you\'ll see more profits. The greatest obstacle to flexibility is fear. The fear response is often adaptive. When we perceive we are about to experience harm, it\'s vital for survival that we mobilize our resources and focus all our energy on the source of harm. We tend to act the same way when we experience fear as we plan, execute, or monitor a trade. When we unconsciously perceive something is amiss, we instinctively focus our attention on the harmful agent. What usually follows, however, is rigidity. Rather than scanning and considering a variety of options, we restrict our attention. Fear can sometimes play a role as we devise a trading plan. The rigid trader may secretly fear that his or her plan is unlikely to succeed. Rather than carefully consider all possible adverse conditions, the fearful, and rigid, trader focuses on only one possibility and develops no alternative plan of attack should an unwanted, or unanticipated, event thwart his or her trading plan. For example, one may anticipate a stock rising during the following week, yet secretly doubt whether the move will pan out. Out of fear, the rigid trader may be afraid to consider and account for possible adverse events, such as earnings reports, a possible interest rate hike, or a sudden change in general market sentiment. The flexible trader, in contrast, has no fear of looking at all these possibilities, and determining which are likely. Openness to all possibilities allows the flexible trader to change his or her plans if required, and recover from a potential setback.
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