--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trend following is an exercise in…" description: "\"Trend following is an exercise in observing and responding to the ever-present moment of now\" — Ed Seykota" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/ed-seykota-15107_exercise_trend-following-is-an-exercise-in-observ_358469.png" --- # Trend following is an exercise in observing and responding… ![“Trend following is an exercise in observing and responding to the ever-present moment of now” quote by Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/ed-seykota-15107_exercise_trend-following-is-an-exercise-in-observ_358469.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/ed-seykota-15107_exercise_trend-following-is-an-exercise-in-observ_358469.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/ed-seykota-15107_exercise_trend-following-is-an-exercise-in-observ_358469.png) > “Trend following is an exercise in observing and responding to the ever-present moment of now” [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing market conditions in real time and reacting promptly is the essence of trend following. **In simple terms:** React to market trends instantly. Key Takeaway Stay alert and act on current market signals. Themes finance trading mindfulness decision‑making Mood analytical cautious Type educational strategic When to use this quote - day trading - portfolio adjustment - algorithmic strategies - risk assessment Key Concepts real‑time analysis trend detection risk management Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate signal from noise? - What safeguards prevent over‑reacting? A Different Perspective Market noise can mislead; not all trends persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Observing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observing/) [Observing Responding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observing-responding-3296849/) [Present moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-moment/) [Responding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responding/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trend/) [Trend Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trend-following-249803/) [Trends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trends/) ## Related quotes > [A good trend following system will keep you in the market until there is evidence that the trend has changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dennis/a-good-trend-following-system-will-keep-you-in-the-market-until-there/) [Richard Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dennis/) > [My style is basically trend following, with some special pattern recognition and money management algorithms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/my-style-is-basically-trend-following-with-some-special-pattern/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [“This makes sense, since human nature is a constant.  Trend following seeks to profit from this collective behavior of market participants, who move into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-r-kratter/this-makes-sense-since-human-nature-is-a-constant-trend-following/) [Matthew R. Kratter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-r-kratter/) > [When a long-term trend loses it’s momentum, short-term volatility tends to rise. It is easy to see why that should be so: the trend-following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/when-a-long-term-trend-loses-it-s-momentum-short-term-volatility/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Opportunities change, strategies change, but people and psychology do not change. If trend-following systems don’t work well, something else will. There’s always money being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-blake/opportunities-change-strategies-change-but-people-and-psychology-do/) [Gil Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-blake/) > [The trend is your friend except at the end where it bends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/the-trend-is-your-friend-except-at-the-end-where-it-bends/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [“Paul Mulvaney made the point: “One thing to bear in mind is that we have made no changes to our trend following strategy since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-covel/paul-mulvaney-made-the-point-one-thing-to-bear-in-mind-is-that-we/) [Michael W. Covel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-covel/) > [Jim Rohrbach sticks to his rules. You can learn from him and win, or ignore him and lose. It's an easy choice. He gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-covel/jim-rohrbach-sticks-to-his-rules-you-can-learn-from-him-and-win-or/) [Michael Covel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-covel/) > [Once a trend is established it tends to persist and to run it’s full course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/once-a-trend-is-established-it-tends-to-persist-and-to-run-it-s-full/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Everything has a trend to it; I don't care if it's appliances or engines. I always ask: What has a company done in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millard-drexler/everything-has-a-trend-to-it-i-don-t-care-if-it-s-appliances-or/) [Millard Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millard-drexler/) > [That's kind of what I want to do-set my own trend in the basketball world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seimone-augustus/that-s-kind-of-what-i-want-to-do-set-my-own-trend-in-the-basketball/) [Seimone Augustus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seimone-augustus/) > [Even our beliefs have become trend statements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/even-our-beliefs-have-become-trend-statements/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Find the trend whose premise is false, and bet against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/find-the-trend-whose-premise-is-false-and-bet-against-it/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I feel like a big trend is just to model your success off someone else and I don't think that ever works in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamrie-hart/i-feel-like-a-big-trend-is-just-to-model-your-success-off-someone/) [Mamrie Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamrie-hart/) > [The advantage of the consumer businesses is they tend to be much broader-based, much larger number of customers, that tend to over time be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-advantage-of-the-consumer-businesses-is-they-tend-to-be-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ed Seykota > [The idea of searching for some secret for trading success misses the point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/the-idea-of-searching-for-some-secret-for-trading-success-misses-the/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [Longevity is the key to success,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/longevity-is-the-key-to-success/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [Risk no more that you can afford to lose, and also risk enough so that a win is meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/risk-no-more-that-you-can-afford-to-lose-and-also-risk-enough-so-that/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [It is a happy circumstance that when nature gives us true burning desires, she also gives us the means to satisfy them. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/it-is-a-happy-circumstance-that-when-nature-gives-us-true-burning/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [Traders and Surfers both have to deal with feelings of missing out on the small ones, until the big one comes along. They also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/traders-and-surfers-both-have-to-deal-with-feelings-of-missing-out-on/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [I think that if people look deeply enough into their trading patterns, they find that, on balance, including all their goals, they are really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/i-think-that-if-people-look-deeply-enough-into-their-trading-patterns/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [The biggest secret about success is that there isn't any big secret about it, or if there is, then it's a secret from me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/the-biggest-secret-about-success-is-that-there-isn-t-any-big-secret/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [Markets are fundamentally volatile. No way around it. Your problem is not in the math. There is no math to get you out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/markets-are-fundamentally-volatile-no-way-around-it-your-problem-is/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [The trading rules I live by are: 1. Cut losses. 2. Ride winners. 3. Keep bets small. 4. Follow the rules without question. 5.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/the-trading-rules-i-live-by-are-1-cut-losses-2-ride-winners-3-keep/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [If you can't take a small loss, sooner or later you will take the mother of all losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/if-you-can-t-take-a-small-loss-sooner-or-later-you-will-take-the/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [Everybody gets what they want out of the market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/everybody-gets-what-they-want-out-of-the-market/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [Fundamentals that you read about are typically useless as the market has already discounted the price, and I call them “funny-mentals”. However, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/fundamentals-that-you-read-about-are-typically-useless-as-the-market/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [The trend is your friend except at the end where it bends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/the-trend-is-your-friend-except-at-the-end-where-it-bends/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [Systems don't need to be changed. The trick is for a trader to develop a system with which he is compatible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/systems-don-t-need-to-be-changed-the-trick-is-for-a-trader-to-develop/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [If you want to know everything about the market, go to the beach. Push and pull your hands with the waves. Some are bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/if-you-want-to-know-everything-about-the-market-go-to-the-beach-push/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) [Explore all 44 Ed Seykota quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) ## More Exercise quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [I always wanted to make sure that within my unit that I was never the weak person. So I made sure that my physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carmouche/i-always-wanted-to-make-sure-that-within-my-unit-that-i-was-never-the/) [Liz Carmouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carmouche/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [One should try to locate power at the extreme of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/one-should-try-to-locate-power-at-the-extreme-of-its-exercise-where/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [What do you think of our gym <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-do-you-think-of-our-gym-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [One things guys have to remember is consistency... You can't make up for three years of eating poorly in just one workout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/one-things-guys-have-to-remember-is-consistency-you-can-t-make-up-for/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [For girls who want to get their waistline down a little bit and don't have any weights in the house, they can actually use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepa/for-girls-who-want-to-get-their-waistline-down-a-little-bit-and-don-t/) [Pepa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepa/) > [The human body has been designed to resist an infinite number of changes and attacks brought about by its environment. 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