Stock traders are, by in large, a very quick-acting yet analytical bunch. That's not to say they generally act correctly or analyze clearly; every trade has two sides and one of those tends to be a loser. Much like high-stakes poker players glorified on TV, professional traders and analysts are not all winners and, in fact, very few analysts outperform the overall market. It's a game fueled by entitlement, addiction, and ego. Those three traits sum up why traders and investors lose money, but what makes the winners the winners? That's certainly a tougher question and I believe Lance Roberts touched on it in his recent article: Think Like a Bear, Invest Like a Bull. 

In a word, the answer is discipline. But being disciplined is not a decision in and of itself, it really is a way of existence. I have come to believe that one cannot be a disciplined investor without living a disciplined life.

I've been following financial markets since 2009, with no academic or practical experience prior. I immersed myself in the financial blogosphere and realized just how wrong most analysts had been both at the top and the recent bottom. Stocks were so cheap then that I was able to make enough of a return in small caps to develop an addiction to entitlement fueled by ego very quickly. I was certainly smarter than all those other guys and would forever crush the market.

After losing a large chunk of profits buying put options in 2010-11, trying to sustain my "100% every month or two" expectations by shorting a market that was no longer dirt cheap, I decided the finance world was not for me and decided to stick with what I know best; tennis. 

From 2012-15 I never really stopped following financial markets but avoided financial media like pop music, the plague, etc. It reminded me of my failures. 

I've played tennis my whole life. Despite earning a college scholarship and competing at a fairly high level, I've never really been in great physical shape. Neither has anyone in my near or distant family that I know of. On top of that, my maternal grandfather died at age 33, my brother has a genetic kidney disease and had two major heart attacks before age 26, heart disease runs rampant on my dad's side of the family, the list goes on... 

In February 2015 my first child was born and, like many new parents, my perspective changed. I no longer felt entitled, egotistical, etc. Much more than from a material standpoint I wanted to provide for my child(ren). I already considered myself a great tennis teacher, but would my kid(s) understand that or be inspired by their far from Federer figured father? So I decided to get in shape and have stayed motivated and persistent in that regard since.

What Lance Roberts addresses in his article is the ability to separate thoughts, expectations, and actions. That discipline, perhaps otherwise described as the combination of emotional and intellectual intelligence, is extremely rare. Permabulls and Permabears don't have it, gold bugs don't have it, and unfortunately most financial writers fall into one of those three categories. Roberts (who strikes me as a more typically proportioned version of Tony Robbins) generally writes with a cautionary tone but has kept clients long stocks throughout the last 6+ years. Big Wave Trader Joshua Hayes (shockingly an avid surfer) displays a great understanding of the macro picture but uses technical analysis to put his money to work and, as far as I can tell, is simply the best at it. Gary Savage, a former Olympic weightlifter and current age group champion, combines technical, fundamental and psychological analysis in an impressively accurate fashion. 

I believe my outlook on financial markets has evolved and improved due to better physical health. I'm in the market psychology/sentiment camp and have no intention of trading for a living or selling a subscription service (check out the aforementioned analysts for that sort of thing). I do, however, want to position my family wisely for both the medium and long term and believe, as described a week ago in "This is the Setup Gold Bulls and Stock Bears Have Been Waiting For," markets have reached a level of complacency that justifies selling stocks. My expectations of a top in AAPL at the iWatch release and gold never again falling below $1000 have thus far held. Right or wrong going forward, my positioning is more conservative and that has created more peace and happiness in my life.

First penned by ancient Roman poet Juvenal in Latin as "mens sana in corpore sano" and since used as a motto by countless professional sports teams, educational and military institutions, the truth remains: healthy body, healthy mind.