WHEN YOU TRY HARD THEN YOU DIE HARD
Learn to walk away. It's such an important aspect of investing in the markets. And, unfortunately, few realize the importance enough to take this exercise in discipline seriously.
The markets are one place where doing too much work can get you in trouble. "When you try hard then you die hard" to quote Kanye West. It becomes a pattern of overthinking and overplaying the hand which your dealt. If there was ever a time to walk away from the markets, this August does indeed qualify.
We are entering one of those periods where the market is going to become extremely deceptive in its behavior. Contrarian theory will be tested. As will various popular technical indicators. The decline has already managed to pop up on the screen of most technicians as being oversold and overly-bearish. Those who take comfort in such indicators will face pressure in the weeks ahead.
This happens from time to time. If contrarian theory was always correct all a trader would have to do is figure out what the masses are doing, do the opposite and accumulate a fortune. While I believe that being a contrarian is one of the most important facets of speculation, it has moments when it turns to mush. We are entering one of those moments.
In summary: walk away.
