TOTW Is it possible to feel no emotion when you win or lose a trade?

You have been caught lying to yourself , that I do not feel any emotion and I am emotionless.

...

Why do you think most sociopaths become so successful in business and trading.
They benefit from experiencing "Shallow emotions".
 
Why do you think most sociopaths become so successful in business and trading.
They benefit from experiencing "Shallow emotions".

NO incorrect !

Unless you explain why .

This is an emotionally charged scene , there are so many emotions involved in this scene .You have got a man crying because he has lost his cigarettes.When you lose real money , traders can become very stressed , emotional and Neurotic.

He has lost his cigarettes gambling on cards.:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL:

 
NO incorrect !

Unless you explain why .

The real world doesnt work like that. Something does not become incorrect just because I dont explain it! :rolleyes:

If I say the world is round and dont explain it, that doesnt make the world flat! :rolleyes:

Tell me why you think it is wrong!
 
The real world doesnt work like that. Something does not become incorrect just because I dont explain it! :rolleyes:

If I say the world is round and dont explain it, that doesnt make the world flat! :rolleyes:

Tell me why you think it is wrong!

Just because you experience shallow emotions you will be succesful is incorrect .You will succed .If you experience strong emotions , they will drive you sunconciously to your targets.No plan no result.

In order to rapidly manifest your desires, you need to get clear on exactly what it is that you want. So, the faster than you can convince your subconscious that the desired result has already manifested, the faster it will show up in your reality.Every high performer knows and understands that the event with the highest emotional charge is what will show up in your life. You need to be tapping into an emotional peak state whenever you are thinking about what you desire to manifest.You need to obsess about what you desire daily, Connecting emotionally with what you desire to manifest
 
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We're taught that the psychological aspect of trading is extremely important. That you need presence of mind and discipline to stick with previously established trading plans and know when to book profits and losses.

We're told that emotions simply can't get in the way. But is it really possible to feel no emotion when you win or lose a trade?

Last week's TOTW: What's your average trading day like?


No.
 
Which leads to the question... how? Which methods have you found effective?


(1) Pouring power into the STOP. A well thought out, solid reason for placement that if violated by even a hair, negates instantly your entire premise, no ifs ands or buts, exit is mandatory.


(2) Having /building confidence in the TP level(s) and just sitting on your hands doing nothing or at the beach/holiday till they are hit. The Trend tends to continue.
 
Greed and fear are part of the game. If the process is repeated everyday, then our subconscious will take over. The most important thing is the correct(profitable) process is put in place. Do we have to think about jamming the brake when we need to stop the car fast?
 
Moderation in all things is imho to be recommended.
J. Livermore for instance got over emotional and topped himself.
Some shrug off losses and say that was fate or God's will.
I disagree. Many bad things can be overcome with effort.
 
You can't afford tom be emotional when trading. you have to have a trading plan when trading. And as part of that plan you decide how much money you can afford to part with. Such in case the trade goes bad you dont shed too many tears over the lost cash. Consider that as a mistake never to be repeated again.
 
For sure, trading plan is extremely important part of trading process. Each trader should have a detailed trading plan created before entering the position. A properly developed trading plan would guide a trader through all the stages of trading process from choosing the setup and entering the position to working with position and closing it with stop loss or take profit. To my mind, most of the newbie traders fail just due to the lack of planning. Even discretional traders should have trading plan since it helps them to avoid making decisions while being in the position - such decisions could be influenced by bias caused by current position (trader would unintetionally search for the confirmation of his initial assumption to feel comfortable about his position).

That is why trading with a plan is the first way to reduce the impact of emotions. If the trader acts strictly in accordance with his plan, his emotions would not influence substantially the trading process in general and the results in particular. At the same time, trader should be disciplined enough to be able to follow the rules otherwise he would mmore likely to violate the rules and make emotional trades (which are mostly losing ones). So the trader interested in improvement of his trading performance should focus on discipline.
 
Big mistake imho of becoming emotionless.
Liable to turn into a zombie and ruin your social/family life. They hate and fear zombies.
Moderation as always better for one.
 
Big mistake imho of becoming emotionless.
Liable to turn into a zombie and ruin your social/family life. They hate and fear zombies.
Moderation as always better for one.

Don't agree at all.

Whilst I admit that people do tend to frown upon the undead grazing on one's family, damping down one's emotions doesn't equate to becoming a zombie or psychopath. A great number of highly skilled people rely on emotional disengagement whilst doing their thing (racing drivers, chess players, tennis players, brain surgeons etc etc) and aren't driven to munch on their progeny. ...and can even interact on a social level too.

In answer to the thread question, it's a resounding "yes" - it is possible but "practical" is something else again. If one sets the goal of "feeling no emotion", how does one go about it? In the case of the above-mentioned professions/activities repetition would seem be a common factor though I'm aware that their coaches often use mental techniques (hypnosis, NLP etc etc) to encourage relaxation, self-discipline and self-belief which in themselves would lead to diminished emotional interference.
 
Mass murderers like Rose and Fred West seem able to squash their better emotions.
. The WW2 criminals at Nuremberg all pleaded not guilty and seemed to believe their own lies.
 
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A lot of traders i know are able to kind of de-personalise trading (hey its just business)....Ive tried this working with coaches and therapists as well.....but i never 100% get rid of my feelings on losing.....just me ...I have many trading friends who handle losses better than me ......so good luck to them

the only generic way to reduce the emotional effects on trading is to reduce your £££ in trades .........sure you can have a multiyear sucessful track record and convince yourself that over time your edge will allow you to make money ......but its only human to feel irritation when you lose a trade ...........so just try to make it irritation (low loss) instead of blind panic / fear / anger (big loss)

over the last 20 years I have placed thousands and thousands of trades .....and it still irritates me when i lose a trade :sneaky:

we are all human so dont fight it
N
 
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Been at this for years and by now have confidence that I can make my living consistently. Been through every possible trade related emotion along the way and today I have no doubt I am effected by large PnL swings but my family would not know today whether I had a winning or losing day. My portfolio is based entirely around max drawdown so I am aware of the 99.9% how bad it could get and set that level at a point where I can emotionally cope. I think that level is personal for every trader but when you know it, by living through it, you will be better for it in the future. Most important to know YOUR max downside and know your outs.
 
Trading with a clear plan of action for whatever could happen will reduce your emotions.

Also the capitalisation points mentioned already are vital.

Don't trade impulsively.

Reduce attachment to individual trades.

Be decisive.

I've always thought having a bit of a depressive personality helps too as you don't get as carried away with the wins and you kind of expect the losses so they're not a surprise. I think Jesse Livermore must've been a bit of a depressive.

Also not thinking of what the monetary value of what is at stake, there is a good quote in Reminiscences where JL wonders about the amount lost on Wall Street with bets taken to get enough to buy fur coats.
 
The fur coat was making everyone to lose money. This is very similar to Jack Schwager's Market Wizards - Zen and the Art of Trading.
 
we are humans, we are designed to feel emotions. no way in the world, a trader feels nothing while winning or losing a trade.
 
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