i am not trying to sound all zen and stuff :l
but...
enforcing the discipline to ALWAYS take your stops is a process that, ... well...
it was (looking over my trading results) the ONLY reason i wasn't profitable - not always taking my stops.
as soon as i realized that, and internalized it, and made the decision I was going to be a professional trader - that was it.
i slipped up twice in a 6 month period after that, and both times (as a sort of punishment) i forced myself to stop trading for 1 week AND take my trading account down to $2500 (which limited me to 1 contract). then, I slowly built back up to $6k (which is a nice size for trading 3 to 4 contracts) and learned my lesson.
when u finally get to the level where taking a stop is actually a RELEASE. it's like "ok. the trade went against me. i followed my methodology, but trading is probabilistic, not deterministic. no matter how good i get, i will always have losing trades. now, on to my next trade". it was liberating. i'm not saying i was quite "happy" to have a stop hit, but there is a real freedom in being able to take a stop and NOT take it as an indictment of your trading style, your skillz, etc.
it's not that u need to be emotionless, as much as u need to try to take your ego out of the trading equation. overconfidence and euphoria cause overtrading, cause you to not take your targets and see large wins turn into small wins or even losses, cause you to overtrade, and take reckless trades, cause you think you can't lose.
i really think the day when i decided once and for all to NEVER move my stops was the day I became, while not emotionless, a pure professional trader.
and i have been consistently profitable ever since.
when u trade futures, and u watch your DOM, and u see price action STAMPEDING towards your stop, you have to leave it in place and just say 'goodbye' to that trade.