The reality of Trading is that it takes you to ‘Uncomfortable Places’ emotionally. But if you aren’t willing to travel there, you have no chance of winning.
Your approach must enable you to travel these ‘uncomfortable places’ in as comfortable way as possible for you.
We hear the stat 90+% of traders don’t make money & I’m not even sure that’s true. What I believe is that it’s not that they can’t make money, it’s that they can’t make as much as they want so they blow up their accounts in frustration & this is what causes that stat to be high.
Make trading fun- fully accept discomfort, mistakes, bad luck as all part of the game rather than bringing a smothering perfection to the table which will have you finish most sessions with less money and a lousy disposition, cause your trading will never meet your expectations!
Trading to generate profits in order to pay daily expenses is like running the 100m sprint in a pair of restraining chackles. You will never trade at your peak performance under these circumstances. Last year was a great minder.
It’s amazing how good I can trade one day and bad the next. If you think it’s all about your technical strategy you’re just kidding yourself. Trading is a journey of oneself.
Overtrading is the art of trying to find something that isn't there. So don't actively try to find reasons to trade. Find patterns to exploit and let the trades come to you.
We are all fighting the same battles: Riding a winner deciding if you should hold it. Holding a loser deciding if you should sell it. Sticking with a stock that has gone nowhere for quarters/years questioning your thesis. You aren’t alone. We are all fighting the same battles.
“Show me the charts, and I'll tell you the news. Have an opinion on what the market should do but don't decide what the market will do. Be happy with a percentage of the move.”
- Bernard Baruch