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Trade small enough to were it doesn't matter if the trade is successful or not. The idea is to get away from thinking about the money. In something like the M6E you will not make a lot of money nor lose a lot. Which is perfect for starting out. It allows you to execute the trades with the least amount of emotions.
The next step is to have a plan for your trading. Then you take your entry based on your plan, manage it based on the plan, and then exit based on your plan. And you do that day in and day out until you have it as second nature. Then you increase your size, build your account, and just try to be consistent.
Its very difficult not to take your losses personally. Whenever I lose I try to distract myself by doing some form of physical activity, walking, jogging etc.
It is an effective stress relieve and helps me center and focus to live to fight another day!
It is very difficult to not to take loss personallyFind your own method do the backtesting well and check ur method is working or not then jump in trading
Another day for me of taking a NON-TRADE personally.
For the past few weeks I've been trying to really drive into my head that true "failure" in trading is when you don't take a trade that fits your conditions. This is something typically done to avoid possible loss, as if we ever truly have control of that in the first place.
Had a real nice 8-9 day run leading up in to yesterday to help recover a chunk of the hole I've been in since early December. Today I had mapped out a perfectly viable short for the S&P and a long natural gas trade via the UNG. I didn't take either of them. I just watched as they broke the levels I wanted .... and watched .... and watched some more.
As I'm typing this I find myself wanting to explain the trades, but it's truly irrelevant. If I'm not taking trades that fit my requirements then what a colossal waste of my own time. I'm not a serial over-trader anymore either. I'm pretty patient and pick my spots. But what is the point of doing the analysis if I'm not going to act on it? I can't die from being wrong. I've scaled back my sizing down to 1,000-1,500 over the last 2 weeks so I'm not going to blow up my entire account taking those trades that were there today.
This kind of thing gets so completely underneath my skin. Nearly 3.5 years into trading I should be past that by now. I just want to get to the point where I can figure out how to disassociate from the $$$ factor. Just trade. I've mentioned on another thread on here that I'm currently trying to find other work to supplement myself, but honestly even with that I wonder if I will still suffer from the kind of unwillingness to act upon analysis I saw today.
This might be obvious but, drinking will make it worse. Personally, playing battlefield, or working out usually does the trick. Try to watch your size too, so when you make a mistake, its not going to end your career in trading.
Do you have a true edge? One that you can go back and say "okay, X happens 6 times out of 10, or 5 times out of 10 and I get 2 while risking 1". I think if you truly have that research in hand (and not relying on the market, but believing in your research and numbers) you will be glad to take each trade, because you KNOW that you have an edge and your winning trades will come. Then it is just making sure you are available to take each and every trade and letting the numbers work out. If you don't have an edge, you will always wonder if the market will make you a winner or not. It will literally drive you crazy.
Have you thought about getting a good old J.O.B so you can not focus on the money. I'm not sure what your situation is, but that might help, money is replaceable. What you could've done is take a SIM trade instead of putting cash on the line. I've been dealing with the same issues you are. In my opinion if you can't be disciplined in SIM, you won't be disciplined in cash. Not taking a trade is lack of discipline mixed with fear. Just wait for the super juicy trades pull the trigger, if you take a stop oh well and move on. Easier said then done, I know. You'll get there. It sounds like you made a good decision by reducing your size. Try going SIM for a week, pull the trigger on every trade that fits your criteria, and see if you can maintain your discipline. This will not only show you that you can do it, this will build your confidence. A fighter pilot just doesn't jump into the cockpit and go. They spend hours on a simulator practicing. You can do it, buddy.
I'd understand the idea of going to SIM if I was new, but I'm already over 3.5 years into this already. At this point I either need to accept the risk or GTFO out of trading. That's what I feel like right now. Can I really count on the idea that having another job and other income coming in will help me eliminate the mental inconsistencies in my trading? That's what I'm wondering too.
You know that's good you have 3.5 years in. I wouldn't put a time limit on your trading. Trading isn't something you just get and you're done. You're always learning new things fine tuning your skills and working through your emotions. You might want to do a deep dive in to why you're doing the things you're doing. Address the reason why your not pulling the trigger. What I have found is it's me not my methods.
How many different strategies or methods did you try until you have gotten to where you're at? If you were messing around with 10 different strategies over the last 3.5 years how long did you stick with each one and your current methods?
Good trades are what you're going for. The by product of good trades is a reward "money." Focus on good trades and you'll be set.
