Conviction is something that is necessary to be a profitable investor. You need to believe in your ideas, strategies and trades and have the wherewithal to stick with them.

However, we must do this without letting ego get involved. Ego will keep us from seeing the warning signs or the potential of investment themes and scenarios.

Conviction without Ego

Natural Instincts

We are wired to avoid acknowledging our mistakes and weaknesses. It usually isn't until we have endured something many times over a time period that we finally recognize them and come to terms. Many never do as they stay stuck in a continuous loop.

Generally it is our ego that gets in the way of acknowledging when things don't work. It delays the actions that actually lead to better things, such as taking the loss on a trade that got away from us.

Most people think of ego and associate it to conceited people - but the thing is we all have an ego. It is subconsciously in us and is the thing that doesn't want to make us "look bad" by admitting when we are wrong.

Seek Truth Over Being Right

In the end we need the truth of a situation to get the best outcome. Whether it is a trade, a long-term investment or a general strategy.

Often times we work hard to prove that our decision or opinion is the correct one and the reality is that cannot always be the case. No one is right all the time nor is every trade or even a investing strategy forever.

Approaching Things With an Open Mind

We need to look at all investing scenarios with an open mind. Not in the sense of accepting that anything can happen with the investment outcome but more so in that fact that we don't know everything.

We need to be open minded to what we don't know. My investing style may differ from some of the other contributors on TIMM (mentormarket.io) and steemit, but that is exactly why I value them.

I know that I do not know everything. I know that I have my blind spots and there are pieces of information someone else may see that I subconsciously filter out.

In the end it is not about being right on each and every decision or each and every trade. It's about being open-minded to all information, especially the information that goes against your hypotheses, and coming to the best decisions over the long run.

Ego Ball and Chain

In my 15 years of active investing the one thing I have seen hurt the most traders, investors and myself is ego. The inability to accept being wrong and be wrong often.

The best part of being wrong is you learn and grow from it. You cannot get better at something without new information and many times that new information comes from making mistakes and getting it wrong.

There is a reason mantras such as "fail forward" exist.

Let's be completely opening minded and kick our egos to the side when they want to rear their ugly heads and stop us from growing!

Need to learn the basics about bitcoin, the blockchain and wallets?

Free e-book: ScaredyCatGuide to Knowing What the Heck Bitcoin Is

Disclaimer: All info in this post is my opinion and for informational purposes only