4. What changes am I willing to make? Long-term change in behavior is one of the toughest challenges you will ever face as a trader or investor.
Once you figure out what is not working—which is hard enough—what are you able to do to change it? How much of what you believe has been proven false and must be discarded? What are you watching/reading/listening to that is counterproductive? What events or developments are hurting your investments now and must be addressed immediately? What are you willing to do to make repairs?
Change is never easy; it is especially difficult when money and ego are at stake. But when a situation hasn't been working, repeating the same thing over and over will not improve your results.
5. How can I stay on track in the future? The above questions are all about being brutally honest with yourself. Your beliefs, mistakes, performance and ego must all be addressed head on if you want to improve. This final question isn't about the past, but the future.
What will you do to stay disciplined? How are you going to evaluate your performance, especially in light of changes in investing strategy?
Even if you don’t have all of the answers, having good questions can point you in the right direction. They go a long way toward helping you get the answers you—and your investments—need.
This article was provided by Bloomberg.