Patience has never been one of my strongest attributes. My son, in his own special way, is helping me to develop this trait (at least when it comes to dealing with people) but it's something that still does not come naturally.

Which, frankly, can be a problem when you're investing in the stock market.

Sometimes, a little patience can help you make more money or least help you cut your losses.

A recent, personal, example of this is when I tried out a trading forecasting system. I used it to get into options that followed the S&P 500. When I entered the trade on the first day, I was impulsive and bought CALLs as the ETF was going up quickly. I paid more than I should have for those options because the volatility was high at that particular moment.

Volatility soon dropped down and my options decreased in value even though the ETF value continued to go up. The whole trade cycle ended the next week with my taking a loss as the value of the option dropped to 50% of the amount I paid for it so I opted to limit my losses.

Had I exercised a little more patience and developed a more detailed trading plan I would have purchased the options at a lower price and been able to stay in the trade longer to perhaps realize a gain.

The good news is that I'm a quick learner, especially where money is involved. So losing a little bit has sharpened my discipline and caused me to analyze my trades a little more closely before entering.

With everything that I'm trying to teach my son, I'm actually kind of glad that he's teaching me patience. And with any luck I'll be able to reflect that back to him so we both be more patient men.