Are Past Losses Keeping You From Being A Winner?
Trading losses are no fun. In fact, they hurt when we react emotionally which most of us do. If you have traded at all, you undoubtedly know exactly what I am talking about. You have suffered a loss, possibly a big loss, possibly a string of losses. You may have been in a losing position that keeps deteriorating with no plan to exit. The feelings we have when these situations occur are normal, but are also counterproductive to achieving our goal of potentially making money.
Here are some typical reactions to past losses.
1. Take revenge. You look upon the market as being against you and you react by making irrational trades and lose even more.
2. Blame the market or anything or anyone but you and repeat the same errors of the past on future trades.
3. Stop trading altogether, concluding that it's not possible to make money trading the markets.
These typical of reactions all have one thing in common; they will prevent you from ever becoming a potential winner.
This is how professionals tend to react to losses:
1. They do not beat themselves up emotionally. They understand that losses come with the territory and are to be expected (there is no holy grail).
2. They take full responsibility for their losses and do not blame others. They objectively review the losing trade to see if there is anything to learn, if corrections in their approach to trading are required or if the loss was just a normal loss within the parameters of their trading methodology.
3. They take losses in stride, because they know that the system they are trading potentially gives them a winning edge and with proper money management will potentially make them a net winner.
The pros can do this, because they have a plan, they have a potential winning edge trading system, they trade it with discipline, and they use sound money management principles.
Don't let your losses keep you from being a winner. Think and act like a pro.
Good Trading,
Trading losses are no fun. In fact, they hurt when we react emotionally which most of us do. If you have traded at all, you undoubtedly know exactly what I am talking about. You have suffered a loss, possibly a big loss, possibly a string of losses. You may have been in a losing position that keeps deteriorating with no plan to exit. The feelings we have when these situations occur are normal, but are also counterproductive to achieving our goal of potentially making money.
Here are some typical reactions to past losses.
1. Take revenge. You look upon the market as being against you and you react by making irrational trades and lose even more.
2. Blame the market or anything or anyone but you and repeat the same errors of the past on future trades.
3. Stop trading altogether, concluding that it's not possible to make money trading the markets.
These typical of reactions all have one thing in common; they will prevent you from ever becoming a potential winner.
This is how professionals tend to react to losses:
1. They do not beat themselves up emotionally. They understand that losses come with the territory and are to be expected (there is no holy grail).
2. They take full responsibility for their losses and do not blame others. They objectively review the losing trade to see if there is anything to learn, if corrections in their approach to trading are required or if the loss was just a normal loss within the parameters of their trading methodology.
3. They take losses in stride, because they know that the system they are trading potentially gives them a winning edge and with proper money management will potentially make them a net winner.
The pros can do this, because they have a plan, they have a potential winning edge trading system, they trade it with discipline, and they use sound money management principles.
Don't let your losses keep you from being a winner. Think and act like a pro.
Good Trading,
