The Paradox Of Success

Obsession is inherently irrational (Oxford definition). People obsessed with their goals will unintentionally filter out negative feedback. Data from MyForexFunds before closure shows that 10% of traders pass phase 1. 24% of those who passed phase 1, pass phase 2. And of those 24% who pass phase 2, only 3% withdraw profits. That's a 0.072% odds of success on a sample size of a thousand traders.

A rational person would look at those statistics and think “Okay maybe this isn’t for me, I’ll find something else to do”, while an obsessed individual would think “I’m going to be part of that 0.072%, I know it”.

Safety VS Outlier

The majority of the population wants safety, security, and a predictable life. People hate the feeling of being out of control. To achieve this safety, discipline is objectively better. It’ll keep your life stable, keep you fit, and it protects your mental health. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

However, the people who win olympic medals, build conglomerates, or revolutionise industries are almost always operating on obsession. In their minds, the idea of failure is so absurd that most don’t even consider “what if I fail” because their concept of survival is psychologically tied to their goal.

Why does this happen?

Neuroplasticity. Yes, they essentially trick their brain into believing that failure is inconceivable. But what starts off as a ‘trick’ is actually a full rewire of how their brain filters reality. When a person obsessively visualises a goal and tells themselves that they’ll achieve said goal day after day, their brain starts building a heavily connected neural pathway. Over time, this thought becomes the brain’s norm.

Finally, the pressure falls onto you. A young man or woman trying to make a name for themselves in an industry that, if you make a mistake, you will almost certainly lose a lot of money. Now, ask yourselves this, do the odds of success in trading make you fearful of failure? Or excited for results.