An attitude of lack and insufficiency can keep a trader from recognizing and taking a loss. Can lock him into a losing trade until he buries himself. Can keep him from trading smoothly thereafter.

A sense of scarcity is also behind the fear of missing out. When a trader is fearful of missing out, he can overtrade in terms of size and frequency. He can jump the gun on a trade or force trades that don't fit his criteria. He can climb unto a move that is practically over. Enough early, late, or forced trades will ultimately result in loss, thus bringing the very opposite of what the trader intended.

Fear of missing out can cause a trader to throw away good money management principles and trade in excessively large size. The end result of overtrading ultimately overtaxes the account and in certain cases actually leads to financial ruination.

Because underlying the fear of missing out is the notion that there are a limited number of opportunities, greed is produced. Greed is often based on the panicky feeling that there will not be enough. For the truly greedy person, whether the greed is for food or money, there never will be enough. There can't be, because if there's a universal scarcity, how can there be enough?

Have you ever experienced overwhelming remorse for a missed trade or a missed investment? Traders often report that the anxiety and regret of a missed trade is far more painful than a trading loss. At the core of such remorse is the lack of focus on opportunities yet to come.

This same belief in limited resources is often the cause of a profit ceiling, a wealth cut-off point. I see this with traders who get their accounts up to a certain amount and each time, proceed to give it all back. Such traders doubt their worthiness to accumulate wealth. Underneath this thought is the belief that there is not enough to go around, and that they are unworthy of more than a certain limited amount, what they consider to be their fair share. If they were conscious of an abundant supply, there would be no need to cut themselves off.