Execution gets worse as success increases

[NeverStopLearning]

Hello guys,

It's been going really well for a few months, I'm trading a pullback setup and can do this in a disciplined manner to get good returns. I have already overcome several DDs and am now profitable over a longer period of time. Problem is, the better it goes, the fewer setups I take, I haven't changed anything and that bothers me because in some cases the returns could be much higher. I also have an FTMO challenge going on, but I've been doing it since the beginning.

Now my question is, what can I do to strengthen the execution again or is this just wishful thinking on my part and I should just carry on like this.

Thanks for your time.

regards
Marco

 

[timsk]

Hello guys,

It's been going really well for a few months, I'm trading a pullback setup and can do this in a disciplined manner to get good returns. I have already overcome several DDs and am now profitable over a longer period of time. Problem is, the better it goes, the fewer setups I take, I haven't changed anything and that bothers me because in some cases the returns could be much higher. I also have an FTMO challenge going on, but I've been doing it since the beginning.

Now my question is, what can I do to strengthen the execution again or is this just wishful thinking on my part and I should just carry on like this.

Thanks for your time.

regards
Marco

Hi Marco,
The key sentence in your post - or part of one at least - is this: ". . . Problem is, the better it goes, the fewer setups I take . . ." I suspect you'll need to add some flesh to the bone for anyone to offer any useful comment as this implies that you have a well defined and profitable strategy but, for some reason, you're unable to pull the trigger when the set ups present themselves? If this is the case, it sounds like a psychological issue and there could be any number of things causing that: too much size, fear of losing profits, lack of confidence for some reason - so on and so forth.
Tim.

 

[NeverStopLearning]

Hi Marco,
The key sentence in your post - or part of one at least - is this: ". . . Problem is, the better it goes, the fewer setups I take . . ." I suspect you'll need to add some flesh to the bone for anyone to offer any useful comment as this implies that you have a well defined and profitable strategy but, for some reason, you're unable to pull the trigger when the set ups present themselves? If this is the case, it sounds like a psychological issue and there could be any number of things causing that: too much size, fear of losing profits, lack of confidence for some reason - so on and so forth.
Tim.

Thanks a lot, It's not necessarily that I don't press the trigger, but rather that I always miss the setups for the most possible reasons. The subconscious always chases me away from the desk.

 

[NeverStopLearning]

Today I decided to just press the trigger no matter what, and that's not good either. What I have analyzed for myself is that I am definitely afraid of losses and I get even more "angry" when I don't take trades and they then become wins. Like it was a downward spiral.

 

[SteveGoodwill]

A lot of times when we lack discipline we look at the charts in a conformation kind of way where we see what we want to see, it's hard and takes time to start looking at it more neutrally and openly. For example, looking for that gold sell lately cost me a lot, but you have to learn and not get discouraged, I guess that's why everyone says the key to improving is patience and discipline.