dugan51 said:
I'm sure most everybody has had times where they found it hard to 'pull the trigger'. But I am currently at the point where I find it almost impossible. I watch many of my desired setups take place and come out favorably, yet I can't take action. If I do get in, I can't relax and bail at the first sign of trouble.
I've been doing light trading for about 2 and half years and admit to doing some pretty dumb stuff in the beginning, but now I do know how to protect myself and when I paper trade I almost always do well. I did have a recent string of consecutive losses which shook my confidence and now I just don't want to get hurt again. How do you get over this?
My buddy that I trade with has all but given up on me. We basically follow the same plan. I even watch him do well and still I can't get in the game. What can I do to unload this mental baggage?
I want to perform mechanically and un-emotionally but can't get there.
Thanks.
Re: I want to perform mechanically and un-emotionally but can't get there.
Is your strategy mechanical and unemotional ? If your strategy requires discretion, then the above cannot be done. If you have pre-defined rules, then you can.
Re: We basically follow the same plan.
Are you sure ? What are the differences, if any ?
Do you have pre-defined stop-losses ? If so, the success/win is pre-defined, and your trades should match your buddys, unless your rules allow changing of stops.
How often does your buddy change the stops ?
Do you have confidence in your plan ?
Re: I did have a recent string of consecutive losses which shook my confidence.
Did your buddy also have a string a consecutive losses, since you follow the same plan ? If so, you must try to take heart from the fact that he is still trading, hopefully profitably.
Do you and your buddy sit close together when trading ? Do you trade a big enough time-frame to be able to relax between trades ? ( do you scalp, or trade more relaxed time-frames ? )
Reason for this: is it possible for your buddy to talk through his trade ?
If your buddy can describe what he is looking at, it may help you to understand what he is seeing, and how he is interpreting the chart. You can then follow his reasoning on your own chart. Make notes to see if he keep referring to certain bar-patterns, or trend-lines, because in reality we subconsciously trade things that we haven’t written down, because we cant consciously describe them. This may become apparent if your buddy conducts a commentary.
(Your problem may be trying to make the perfect trade, and you look at the chart in a disjointed and unconnected fashion, checking different time-frames to confirm the trade, only to get contradictory signals, giving rise to stress.)
A commentray may help you to look at a chart in a co-ordinated manner.
As described before by another poster, put aside money for education. Don’t plan to make profit, just try to see how long you can last before it runs out. ( a sort of monetary “keepie-uppie“. How many trades before the account is halved ? )
Also take note of another posters view on volatility.
Do you have too much thinking-time between trades ? ( where you fret over the market moving )
If your time-frame is hourly, there is absolutely no reason to look at the screen for another 50 minutes or so. Read a book, do exercises.
Record you trades.
Then compare if the last 20 trades are better than the previous 20 trades.
It is a long-haul business.
Hope this helps.
And make sure you post back here weekly to let us know. It can act as a useful diary.
You can be assured of support.
