Taking the emotion out of investing is hard. All of the books I have read about investing talk about this concept as a founding principal. This has been one of the hardest things for me to do. I get excited on the buys and dread the sells. It does not matter if I am selling for a gain or loss. I always worry about maximizing profit or think a loss will be a gain in X days.

I find that I try to shortcut my research when I get busy or have some cash sitting on the side lines for a while. I have worked harder on this and I am being a better disciplined inventor. I find when I do my homework my trades work for me but when greed or fear rule me, I loose money. It seems like a simple issue, “do it the right way” but it is not that easy.

I had a good trade and then I muffed it up by doubling down on the call options out another month. This was a total break of my normal operating process and greed caused me to be in down position. The option was not priced right but my ego would not let me pass on it. This was my first breakdown this year and it will cost me. Another lesson learned, I hope.