frugi
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Most of the time I am capable of trading in a disciplined manner, paying strict attention to method and system and minimising risk with impartiality and patience, regardless of whether my last trade was a loss or a win. Sometimes this rather dull, sustained concentration actually seems easy, especially if I am not in a trade, as then I can be truly impartial and occupy myself with other matters, with the odd glance at the charts sufficient to alert me to the occasional opportunity. Of course the concentration level must increase dramatically while managing the trade, but even then I generally cope. I have been trading long enough to know the wisdom of sitting on hands, pruning losses and giving profits a decent chance.
The big problem I have lies not so much in my every day approach, which is robust, if unspectacular, but in the odd occasion when inexplicably I cast everything to the wind, perhaps deciding on nothing more than a whim to trade 4 contracts instead of the usual 1 or 2 or to prolifically and badly overtrade in a range, buying tops and selling bottoms with increasing self-disgust, or even to average a loser.
Now this is common enough behaviour among losers, especially newbies
But what irritates and confuses me about this is that
1) Now I have some trading experience, every time I do it at part of me is consciously looking at my actions saying "You idiot! Stop this trade now because every time you do this you lose far more than is sensible and are then miserable because you have broken your own rules and lost money" and yet I carry on, almost in a sort of trance, until the pain gets so bad my conscious mind finally and desperately asserts itself with a controlling act of survival, at which point the trance is lifted and with the predictable remorse, full rationality returns with a vengeance. I look back at the last few minutes and just cannot believe what I just allowed myself to do. Completely of my own volition I acted like the worst sort of loser and knew I was doing it! Madness.
2) There is often no obvious catalyst for the sudden breach of control. It rarely shows itself as a revenge trade, or following a spell of overconfidence, which I could almost understand. I simply sit down at the PC feeling just like I did yesterday when I sniffed out 30 pips and once in a while do something very stupid.
I would love to know when this was likely to happen (as I am never forewarned of my stupidity) and then unlearn the mechanism that causes it.
Sometimes it feels as if its not even me doing it - the impartiality that serves so well to protect my account now distances me from the growing loss and responsibility to eliminate it.
Tis why the one line trading tip that means the most to me is "It's the trades you don't take that make the money."
At least it happens less often than it used to.
The big problem I have lies not so much in my every day approach, which is robust, if unspectacular, but in the odd occasion when inexplicably I cast everything to the wind, perhaps deciding on nothing more than a whim to trade 4 contracts instead of the usual 1 or 2 or to prolifically and badly overtrade in a range, buying tops and selling bottoms with increasing self-disgust, or even to average a loser.
Now this is common enough behaviour among losers, especially newbies
But what irritates and confuses me about this is that
1) Now I have some trading experience, every time I do it at part of me is consciously looking at my actions saying "You idiot! Stop this trade now because every time you do this you lose far more than is sensible and are then miserable because you have broken your own rules and lost money" and yet I carry on, almost in a sort of trance, until the pain gets so bad my conscious mind finally and desperately asserts itself with a controlling act of survival, at which point the trance is lifted and with the predictable remorse, full rationality returns with a vengeance. I look back at the last few minutes and just cannot believe what I just allowed myself to do. Completely of my own volition I acted like the worst sort of loser and knew I was doing it! Madness.
2) There is often no obvious catalyst for the sudden breach of control. It rarely shows itself as a revenge trade, or following a spell of overconfidence, which I could almost understand. I simply sit down at the PC feeling just like I did yesterday when I sniffed out 30 pips and once in a while do something very stupid.
I would love to know when this was likely to happen (as I am never forewarned of my stupidity) and then unlearn the mechanism that causes it.
Sometimes it feels as if its not even me doing it - the impartiality that serves so well to protect my account now distances me from the growing loss and responsibility to eliminate it.
Tis why the one line trading tip that means the most to me is "It's the trades you don't take that make the money."
At least it happens less often than it used to.
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