It is what it is

This is just a brief post, after seeing some comments on social media referring to the price action in the general markets (particularly in the US) today. 

I've seen some refer to it as 'ugly', while others are saying they have never come across price action like this, before looking to blame others for making price action react in a way which didn't conform with how they thought it 'should' have moved. 

Well, in answer to those:

Whether you view the price action as 'ugly' or 'brilliant' I guess will depend on how you are positioned in the market(s) which are moving. 

To someone who has a bias to the long side, then they may well have viewed today as ugly. Yet if your bias is to the short side, you would have viewed it completely differently. 

And I guess those same people would have expressed the opposite opinion the day before after the big gap up in the major market averages over the weekend.

As to those who are saying they haven't seen this type of price action before, you are either completely new to the markets or you are simply viewing what is happening within the blinkered confines of any expectations, opinions or predictions you have. 

The fact is, you do see this price action, every day. It's just buying and selling by other market participants, who don't give a damn about your positions or opinions, or the lines on your charts or what your indicators may say. Everyone has their own reasons for their buying and selling.

As people like Ed Seykota or Mark Douglas have been telling us for years, you cannot predict a non-existent future. 

Days like today should help reinforce the idea that you should not have any preconceived notions about what can happen, in any market, at any time.

Getting my head around this concept, together with never under-estimating how far a price move can go, was a game changer for me in being able to accept what happens. 

You can only control what you can control, and the one thing you know you can't control is the buying and selling of other market participants. And the end of that day, price doesn't lie. It is what it is.

The sooner you accept those points, the better you will perform - and the better mindset you will have.