Stock Doc: Trust Your Instincts

Applying Insight From a Wise Ballplayer

As I've mentioned in previous columns, I've been playing in a semiprofessional baseball league for the past five years. Throughout my hitting streaks and slumps, I have been fortunate enough to play with a variety of older, more experienced ballplayers who have seen it all. They have honed their ability to overcome slumps and setbacks because they understand the logic that they are part of the game and that they will always have a chance to redeem themselves over a long season.

Last season, amidst the worst hitting slump of my short career, a 38-year-old veteran who had played in the minor leagues for 10 years gave me some advice that has stuck with me since. He knew that my confidence was down and that I was frustrated. He pulled me aside and in a relaxed manner said to me, "Man, you just got to trust your hands and you will start hitting again!"

The Takeaway

"Trusting your hands" as a hitter relates to one's ability to let your body go through its natural swing without thinking too much about what you are doing. In essence, you see the ball coming out of the pitcher's hand, and you let your instincts and body take over the rest of the swing naturally.

If you are in good physical shape and you have a fundamentally sound stroke, you will eventually hit the ball hard. Your hands have the answer, not your head.

Traders who are feeling like they have lost their ability to see clearly because of a slump must also remember that they have a learned skill. The insights and strategies that have worked for them in the past can continue to work as long as they banish bearish thoughts from their minds before a trade.

Let your body execute the trade as it was originally meant to be executed. Trust yourself and don't get fooled by the curve balls that your mind throws at you after you have incurred a large loss. In many ways, your first decision can be worth sticking with as a rule. Follow through with your swing!

Please write to the Stock Doc with your trading, emotional or investing dilemmas. Dr. Cass always welcomes comments and stories, for which he'll try to offer valuable solutions in later columns.