Chapter 3
Deep Freeze
At a recent professional basketball game, an eighth grade girl was preparing to experience the thrill of a lifetime. She had been selected to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” before a large and enthusiastic audience. Instead of experiencing the thrill of success, she forgot the words to the song and froze. The humiliation and embarrassment that swept over her added to the whirlwind of fear that consumed her. At that moment, the coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, Maurice Cheeks, appeared at her side and started to sing while encouraging her to follow. This kind and courageous man melted her freeze and she finished the song triumphantly.
Just as this young lady froze at the very moment she needed to be performing at her best, traders frequently find themselves freezing at the moment when they should be trading at their best. Instead of pulling the trigger to take that trade or exiting at the pre-determined stop, they freeze. The result is that they stand by and watch helplessly as a tremendous opportunity passes them by or their losses continue to pile up into a financial catastrophe. Afterward, filled with remorse, guilt, and self-recrimination, they search for reasons and justifications for their failure.
