It doesn’t matter if it’s a new trading strategy, a new instrument—like moving from stocks to options or options to futures—or a new way of doing research… newness brings discomfort. It’s awkward. You don’t know what you don’t know, and that’s unsettling.
But this goes far beyond trading.
New relationships, new neighborhoods, new clubs, new social scenes, new foods, new schools—all of it can feel overwhelming. And the hardest part? Fighting through the growing pains. It’s so easy to say, “This isn’t for me.”
When we step outside our comfort zones, we lose our sense of safety—real or imagined. That throws us into fight-or-flight mode. We want to retreat, go back to what’s familiar. And yet, staying safe can cost us the growth and joy waiting just past the edge of discomfort.
This is on my mind today because I’m about to drive three hours into the mountains to pick up my son from what was supposed to be a weeklong Boy Scouts summer camp. He lasted two days.
He’s never spent more than one night away from home on his own. He’s struggling with the unfamiliar rhythms, rules, and routines of Boy Scout life. We’ve tried to encourage him to push through, to find the fun (there’s so much fun to be had if he’d just let himself get there), but for now… it’s too much.
So we’re back to square one on teaching him how to face discomfort and not run from it.
But honestly? I get it. I haven’t mastered this either. Nobody really does. But we have to keep trying.
Traders can relate to this deeply. We have to constantly adapt. Markets change. Volatility comes and goes. Regimes shift. Even our own financial circumstances and confidence levels evolve over time. All of these demand that we stretch into something unfamiliar.
That stretch is painful.
But if we can endure it—if we can stay in the discomfort just long enough—we usually find transformation on the other side.
So I’ll keep working with my son. I’ll keep working on myself.
That’s the work.
Sean McLaughlin | Chief Options Strategist, All Star Charts