In the pursuit of success, recognition, fame and money people often underestimate what they already have. For example, health: when there is nothing wrong with it, it is difficult to imagine the consequences of physical “bankruptcy. This is why health is so often squandered by putting in a lot of work. They squander the most valuable asset, which can be difficult and sometimes impossible to restore. Traders’ careless attitude towards health is fueled by professional factors (there’s no getting away from professional deformation): Belief in the magical possibilities of money. When you first start on the path to big money, it seems that you can buy everything with it. But, unfortunately, that’s not quite true. You can buy the services of the best doctors in the world, no problem. The problem is something else: medicine is not yet, unfortunately, omnipotent.
Risk appetite.
Traders are used to taking risks, many have an increased propensity for adventurism. And adventurous nature can put their heads on the line. The habit of stress and nervous overload. Traders are so accustomed to working in a stressful environment that, for many, it seems like a matter of course. Few think about the consequences of permanent, i.e. constant stress. The possibility of working in a wheelchair. Yes, even a handicapped person can do Forex trading, and that’s great: the Internetization of many professions, business and stock trading gave a chance to become successful and rich to those, who a couple of decades ago were doomed to live on the dole. But there is also the other side of the coin: many traders have a careless attitude to health. After all, even if you drive yourself into a wheelchair, you can still work…
Underestimating the danger.
When a trader throws his health into the furnace, he rarely realizes what he is doing, because the consequences do not manifest themselves immediately. If you tell him, “Cut off a leg and throw it in a steam furnace, turn up the heat!” – and he’ll say, “What am I, stupid?” But in doing so, he will, for example, earn himself diabetes, even though this disease threatens to amputate his legs. Willingness to consciously sacrifice health to achieve a goal. The worst thing is when a trader (as well as many businessmen) treats their health as a resource that can be invested in business.
The peculiarity of the psychology of a person who rushes to success like an armored train – in the ability to give to the business without the rest. And this medal also has two sides. An armored train is, of course, a powerful machine. But if you throw the most valuable things – time, family and friendships, health – into the furnace, what will be left? Most people, especially the young and vigorous ones, do not immediately realize that health is a resource that is difficult to regenerate.
An analogy gives an idea of how difficult it will be to get it back: a forest can be cut down in a few days, but it will take decades to recover. Only humans do not have decades to restore health: the older you get, the worse the regeneration mechanisms work, and, in addition, natural aging processes prevent you from getting back into shape. – Yes, you scared the hedgehog,” a skeptic will say. – But try to be healthy without money! How much health has a poor man who lives next to a smoking factory, has never seen the sea, can not buy fruits and seafood, and not enough money for vitamins in the box? What kind of health are we talking about if there is no money to fix teeth, to pay for massage, to buy medicine? Yes, I may just be working hard to buy health for myself and my family! There is some truth in these words.
A paradox arises: to buy health, you have to spend it, and if you spend it, you don’t know that you will buy it. So what to do? Changing attitude to health As it has already been said, people engaged in trading have a higher risk of squandering their health. But the victories for many will be Pyrrhic. If you want to be a real winning trader, you have to save your army. In other words, save your most valuable, basic, non-renewable, or hard-to-replace assets. One should not sacrifice family, personal convictions, conscience, or health for the sake of success. You should not turn into a military leader, who piles the enemy with “cannon fodder,” especially if that “cannon fodder” is yourself. Stop treating your health as a resource that can be invested in the business.
It is better to treasure this asset, as the only apartment (you are not going to take a loan for trading on the security of housing, are you?!) Understand that working at full stretch, you will not beat the marathon distance. Horses are shot and killed. Develop a personal recovery plan. Since you cannot do without damage to your health (the stresses alone are worth it), look for ways of rehabilitation (starting with the basics – sports, normal sleep, good nutrition, regular rest, a healthy lifestyle). Cut down a tree – immediately plant a new one. Use your strategic thinking, you’re a trader. Analyze your lifestyle, your work style, your health – and think about where you’ll be in 10, 20, 30 years… You’re going to live a long life, aren’t you? Evaluate occupational health risks the same way you evaluate trade risks. Consider good health as a resource that helps you make money. That’s where we’ll focus our attention.
A healthy trader – a successful trader No matter how you draw a scary picture, berserker is not intimidated. But traders are well served by the considerations of profit. Try to look at health as a turbine, giving acceleration to work.
Good physical condition and a healthy mind depend on:
- Employability.
- Emotional well-being.
- Brain activity.
- A positive attitude.
Ability to work without downtime (without “sick leave”). Resistance to stress. So it’s unreasonable to ruin the health of a trader. You won’t work on a frozen computer, will you? Occupational risk factors We used to think that occupational diseases are a risk factor for those who are engaged in physical labor or work at a harmful job. Digging, loading, swallowing coal dust, breathing chemicals… And what can happen to a person sitting in a cozy chair and sipping “coffee and kakava”? But occupational pathologists have compiled a hefty list of occupational diseases that threaten intellectual toilers. Let’s briefly run through the risk factors for the trader: Diseases of the spine and joints. The less often you get up from your chair, the more problems you have. Much also depends on the orthopedic characteristics of the chair itself. Tunnel syndrome (carpal tunnel syndrome).
The modern trader does not need to gesticulate intensively, but needs to twitch and twitch the mouse. The wrist does not like it. Diseases of lymphatic system (lymph drainage) due to immobility and, as a result, fluid stagnation. Gastritis, ulcers, colitis, cholecystitis, and other illnesses of gastrointestinal tract and liver (some traders forget to eat, others choke on dry food, the third swallow fast food, the fourth generally grind everything you can find, because of compulsive gluttony…).
Overweight (up to obesity).
This is a typical problem for people who spend half their day in a chair, and then move to the couch. Workers at home have an increased risk (they don’t even have to get to the office). Cardiovascular diseases, which develop as a result of excess weight. Endocrine disorders, in particular diabetes (especially if you like to refuel your brain with chocolates). Hemorrhoids. No comment, right? A rattled nervous system, and on top of that – a bunch of bad things, from neuroses, phobias, asthenia (burnout) and insomnia, to skin disease and impotence. Vision problems. And for an appetizer, karoshi. A special risk factor is abuse of “stimulant” substances: from nicotine and alcohol to something worse. As the ancient Romans used to say, forewarned is forearmed. You are warned! Wealth or Health? In conclusion, let me remind you that trading is your personal responsibility. You and only you are responsible for the decisions you make, including the choice of whether to squander or preserve your health. If you squander this asset, you won’t have the right to say: “It’s all your trading’s fault! I wasted my health working my ass off!” No, it won’t be trading’s fault. Become a strategist who strengthens rather than weakens your army. Don’t kill it, but strengthen your health – so you can work harder and earn more. And remember, in the choice between money and health, the correct answer is: It’s better to be both rich and healthy!
