My level of trading frustration is at an all time high. I need to think very deeply about what is holding me back from consistent profitability. I'm constantly seesawing between BE and Loss over and over and over and over and over again.
Harvey, by saying "holding me back" I assume you have a trading plan that wins more often than not but that you just aren't executing the plan properly. Belief in a positive outcome and trusting yourself to "do the right thing" are key. Sounds simplistic I know. But the "how to" of trading is always the easy part. Are you keeping stats on all setups? Ask yourself why you don't BELIEVE in your plan. Whether you take the trades or not, are you seeing more winners each day than not? If your next trade doesn't work (for ANY reason) do you believe you'll NEVER see another winning setup? There is likely a disconnect between the REALITIES of your plan and the BELIEFS (false beliefs)in your head. We all go through this process. What you KNOW ABOUT THE REALITIES of your plan and what you BELIEVE when it comes time to act are not in line with each other. Think long and hard about this. It's about belief and trust.
When it comes to trading you have to be your own psychologist. You can read all the books and listen to all the guru seminars you want, but they will not fix you. Yes, they may point you in the right direction. But its not about reading a bunch of psycho-babble and re-awakening as a new person. You fix yourself by understanding the problem and asking the right questions of yourself. It takes time. It's a process. Deep down you already know what to do. Now you have to free your mind to let you do it.
Harvey, your down $34 today and your frustrated? I've been down $800+ in a single trading day, I was past frustrated to enlightened. I had to get back to basics, refocus my technical analysis, fine tune my entry method, and I re-read a few of my favorite psycho-babble books.[a work in progress] YM is right about needing to be your own psychologist, trading is easy when the mind is clear and only reacting to what the charts are telling you.
YM - Thanks for your thoughts. I'll re-read your comments over the weekend and keep asking myself questions. Hopefully a few of them will lead me towards my goal. (consistently profitable)
Gump - I can take your comment to have a few different meanings depending on which context I'm viewing the lawyer & client.
Trin - Nope, not frustrated by the money I've lost at all. I'm frustrated by the 6 years I've been paying my dues in trading purgatory (not making any money).
Trading Purgatory sounds like a good title for a book. In all seriousness, when you refer to paying dues, I assume you are referring to the effort it takes to be consistently profitable, not to be confused with what I refer to as overhead expenditures [losses]. I do not intend on being rude or intrusive, you say your frustrated because you have been paying dues for 6 years now, are you doing this full time or part time, large trading account or small, globs of leverage or little?
The reason I ask is to get a better picture of your trading situation, trading as we all know is difficult; if you’re trading part time, undercapitalized, and over leveraged, you’re severely handicapping you chances for success. Now if you have been trading full time for 6 years for a living to pay your bills I sincerely commend you, disregard everything above.
Trin - I trade part-time and I report my real profit or loss daily. Yes, my dues are effort not money lost. My trading account is 8K at the moment. I use 50:1 leverage. Leverage is an often misused term. I could use 400:1 leverage and my results would be the same. My risk is a dollar amount not how much my broker requires me to have in my account to open a trade.
Harvey, by saying "holding me back" I assume you have a trading plan that wins more often than not but that you just aren't executing the plan properly. Belief in a positive outcome and trusting yourself to "do the right thing" are key. Sounds simplistic I know. But the "how to" of trading is always the easy part. Are you keeping stats on all setups? Ask yourself why you don't BELIEVE in your plan. Whether you take the trades or not, are you seeing more winners each day than not? If your next trade doesn't work (for ANY reason) do you believe you'll NEVER see another winning setup? There is likely a disconnect between the REALITIES of your plan and the BELIEFS (false beliefs)in your head. We all go through this process. What you KNOW ABOUT THE REALITIES of your plan and what you BELIEVE when it comes time to act are not in line with each other. Think long and hard about this. It's about belief and trust.
ReplyDeleteHe who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to trading you have to be your own psychologist. You can read all the books and listen to all the guru seminars you want, but they will not fix you. Yes, they may point you in the right direction. But its not about reading a bunch of psycho-babble and re-awakening as a new person. You fix yourself by understanding the problem and asking the right questions of yourself. It takes time. It's a process. Deep down you already know what to do. Now you have to free your mind to let you do it.
ReplyDeleteHarvey, your down $34 today and your frustrated? I've been down $800+ in a single trading day, I was past frustrated to enlightened. I had to get back to basics, refocus my technical analysis, fine tune my entry method, and I re-read a few of my favorite psycho-babble books.[a work in progress] YM is right about needing to be your own psychologist, trading is easy when the mind is clear and only reacting to what the charts are telling you.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you!
-Trin
Thank you for you comments.
ReplyDeleteYM - Thanks for your thoughts. I'll re-read your comments over the weekend and keep asking myself questions. Hopefully a few of them will lead me towards my goal. (consistently profitable)
Gump - I can take your comment to have a few different meanings depending on which context I'm viewing the lawyer & client.
Trin - Nope, not frustrated by the money I've lost at all. I'm frustrated by the 6 years I've been paying my dues in trading purgatory (not making any money).
Trading Purgatory sounds like a good title for a book. In all seriousness, when you refer to paying dues, I assume you are referring to the effort it takes to be consistently profitable, not to be confused with what I refer to as overhead expenditures [losses]. I do not intend on being rude or intrusive, you say your frustrated because you have been paying dues for 6 years now, are you doing this full time or part time, large trading account or small, globs of leverage or little?
ReplyDeleteThe reason I ask is to get a better picture of your trading situation, trading as we all know is difficult; if you’re trading part time, undercapitalized, and over leveraged, you’re severely handicapping you chances for success. Now if you have been trading full time for 6 years for a living to pay your bills I sincerely commend you, disregard everything above.
Trin - I trade part-time and I report my real profit or loss daily. Yes, my dues are effort not money lost. My trading account is 8K at the moment. I use 50:1 leverage. Leverage is an often misused term. I could use 400:1 leverage and my results would be the same. My risk is a dollar amount not how much my broker requires me to have in my account to open a trade.
ReplyDelete