In today’s episode, Mark discusses the syndrome that prevents many new and experienced traders from finding the consistent profitability that they desire!  This is actually something that people experience in many different facets of life (outside of trading) but it holds especially relevant as it relates to trading.  Mark personally experienced this when he started his trading journey and it wasn’t until he stopped to reflect on his results (or lack thereof at the time) that he realized he had also fallen victim to it!  What is "it"? It's the shiny ball syndrome. You may have heard it called something different; maybe shiny object syndrome, but regardless what you want to call it, it is the phenomenon where a person constantly changes their focus from one thing to another everytime they see a new “shiny ball” of potential opportunity.  Are you somebody that commits all of their focus and energy on something and as soon as you lose motivation or things don’t go as planned, you jump ship to the next “opportunity” and start from scratch all over again?  This is the shiny ball syndrome at work! Most people that fall trap to it spend a lot of time and energy on what they want but don’t get anywhere!  It’s human nature to want the best options so it makes logical sense that we go for the one that looks the best - the issue is that what we believe looks the best right NOW might not really be the case! People that suffer from shiny ball syndrome tend to give up too early on the things that really matter to them - that’s why they are stuck in a constant loop of frustration - because they lose sight of what’s important to them and focus on external forces instead of working on the internal operator. They do not give themselves enough time to let things play out so that they can reap the rewards!   Most people’s plans to achieve their goals looks relatively simple in their heads. They say I am at point A and I want to get to point B (mastery), which is the end goal. They wholeheartedly believe the journey is going to be a straight path from point A to B  but unfortunately we know this to be extremely rare in reality.  Now to paint a picture of the reality -  imagine that same path from point A to B as a road, however, this time around the shoulders of this road are cluttered with distractions that act as magnets to throw you off of your course.  You have to build strong commitment walls to protect yourself from any outside influence so that you can remain on the path to your end goal. As it relates to trading, new traders typically start off their journey looking to become proficient in trading the first market they are introduced to. On their path to mastery, they will inevitably run into distractions and obstacles that will ultimately determine whether they will find success or continue to spin their wheels without accomplishing much. If things don't work as expected right away, they may start looking for different trading strategies on YouTube or another asset class to trade in search of finding that holy grail. These all become distractions that drive them away from consistency - afterall, how can you be consistent with your trading if the only thing you do consistently is change things up? If you have been trading for any amount of time and not achieving the results you want then ask yourself this, "Am I being consistent in my approach or am I always searching for the next best thing to level up?" If you answered with the latter, then you are likely falling victim to shiny ball syndrome. Fear not because identifying this is actually a huge first step towards correcting course! Here are the next steps that you can take to overcome shiny ball syndrome: 

• Understand that results do not come overnight; it is a marathon and your expectations have to be set accordingly

• Develop a strong “why” statement for why you are trading; what are you trying to accomplish and how will you serve others with the profits you make? Keep this front of mind daily!

• Reframe your mindset from one of lack to an abundance mindset; this will provide your "internal operator" with the foundation to achieve your goals and remain positive in the event of setbacks.

• Shift from living in effect of things to living at cause for your life; this is an opportunity for you to take accountability of your current reality and to stop blaming external forces which gives you ultimate control!

• Focus on the process instead of the result; if you are solely focused on the results then you will not commit to the journey when things don't happen how you might want them to.

Resources

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