My background is software engineering and reading the market was different and seemed to maximize my cognitive strengths. It was refreshing, and I seemed to be talented at it. Beyond that, one of my mentors instilled in me a type of belief that trading was nearly impossible and that seemed to make it more relevant that I might be talented at it. High level trading requires focus and focus is associated with consciousness and consciousness is a self-rewarding state. So, yes basically flow states. Sure and you can achieve that programming too, and so it is natural also for me to build systems.
Let me give you an analogy, I used to work in contracting as a software engineer. Some of these were jobs high stress positions where I had to perform and solve the problems within a few hours or risk being sent home on the spot. In one job, the other lead developer would always come into work in the morning and it was clear he was worried. But, I could see the worry just melt away when he started to program because he became exclusively focused and couldn't afford to worry. He became free, in a way for a short time.
And, great discretionary trading is of the same vein. Great trading requires absolute focus and that frees oneself from the normal worries and pains of life for a brief time.
Trading is the mirror that brings out the real you right in front of you. Everyday. So you know what needed changing, what needed replacing and what needs improving; or what needs to be dropped altogether.
I have traded more for this reason than any other. In any case money is just an outcome of trading. It is not trading. To me trading is simply numbers in motion.
