Biggest Trading Challenge?

[learner2007]

I can't remember if it was my biggest challenge or not, but I had a heck of a time stopping to try and find a way to trade every single price movement under the sun. Wasted a lot of time, but on the other hand learned what not to trade.

 

[Redneck]

I have seen this with many traders, and the inner dialog can make or break our success. For the most part, this is learned, or not, in childhood.

Anyone with a goal of becoming a trader - must learn self reliance and personal accountability

We are what we are..., we do what we do..., we think what we think - because we've decided to make it so

Regardless whether we were dropped on our head as a small child..., or not

=========================

My belief is that the single most powerful thing we can do as traders to achieve success is to be kind and supportive to ourselves, inside our mind. I.e. to exhibit positive self talk.

The single most powerful thing we can do - is to actually do

Repeatedly..., and consistently

Regardless of each trade's outcome

Regardless what we think..., want..., hope.., how we feel..., what life is throwing our way


Now.., one could argue (correctly so) - without the "correct" mindset - the doing is impossible - and I would not disagree (a trader's mindset is the very foundation upon which everything else is built)

However..., one could very well have the "correct" mindset..., and still not be able to do

Doing (correctly..., consistently..., repeatedly..., without hesitation or reservation) is what separates successful traders from the rest

======================

Most traders are not aware of their self talk, but I do personally think the ability to have positive, supportive, and respectful self talk is by far and away the strongest predictor of success.

Knowing the very next trade.., one takes..., could very well break down and be a loser

And this losing trade could drain one's account bone dry..., even worse

So one manages their self..., and each trade - accordingly..., without hesitation or reservation

Is the best predictor of success


Everything else is pure speculation as to one's ultimate attainment

=============================
btw

The above I last quoted is all good and well....

But a quieted..., peaceful..., centered..., and objective mind -> is by far and away better (and imho necessary)..., especially for trading

================

Aside:

I trust you've come here as a trader - to learn..., share..., grow - and not with ulterior motive

If the former - Welcome!!!!

If the latter - good luck with that

RN

 

[Mtrader]

I trust you've come here as a trader - to learn..., share..., grow - and not with ulterior motive

I had the same reflection but did not post it. Wanted to give the advantage to the poster and see what will happen in future.
I googled after her first posting a bit and after that I sharpened my attention.

 

[Handle123]

When I first started, I honestly can't remember, I was in the Army in 1978, my biggest challenge was not falling asleep at work, learning about trading then was a joke, I would hang out at downtown brokerage till 1pm, I'd listen to fundamentals from old guys that were clients and brokers were gods back then, they had no competition like now, they hand out lunch and coffee each day. AT&T made big bucks then for long distance calls and commissions were $125 for 100 shares. Stocks in the 80s were easy, no home PCs did charts by hand. Life was better.

Took much longer to trade commodities cause I was lazy, didn't want to learn to program. I had overcome that well and became profitable. I started to teach mid 90s, I have learned much more teaching or helping others, hardly anything about trading but about myself, I find everyone else's lives interesting, where they have often lived their lives while I been in my cave looking over charts, but then I am the one who is teaching cause of boredom. It is amazing of all professions of those I assisted and they come to trading for various reasons and find this to be hardest thing to break the nut. There often know or think they know more than me, some do.

What I don't believe in is what I call psycho books and tapes like Tharp, Douglas, Bernstein, I think problems that are deep seated down to subconscious needs more along the lines of hypnosis. If someone has lost confidence in themselves, all the coaching in the world not going to help as that will bounce off and not get down to the real hurt in their lives, often coming from their childhood. Most will disagree, but if you are not mentally there, save a ton of money and enjoy your life doing anything else. I was not mentally there when I was learning, I should have never pushed through the walls, and found many dark passages of my life I could have lived without. I gotten good through sheer terror of those I would feel laughing at me from above if I didn't overcome. I fear nothing any more from these experiences and I can overcome anything I want in my life.

Lastly, real hard of not curing what is wrong when they discover a kick ass system, but that takes years. Starting slowly and begin their confidence that way. I oppose people going home and start trading, I am behind someone who can papertrade and become profitable 18 or 20 days, if you don't have confidence after doing this.....stop and learn how to play the piano.

Redneck is right, never get over some things, I could have 40 profitable day trades, I will only remember the losing one, I know where that comes from in my childhood, but I am old enough to know that feeling will never go away, often think it is a feeling I don't want to go away.

Wonder when Starbucks opens?

 

[DHOHHI]

I did have a few professions before trading. . . At trading school, I was taught to jump in with live money from day one, and that this was a "good" thing. If I were to teach someone to trade, I would say do it on the simulator for at least 6 month and get very good with it before you trade a penny live. Just my view.

That is pretty cool that you had someone at your office encouraging you to go home and trade! I like that story. . .

Telling you to go live right off the bat sounds like the school was trying to profit at your expense early on, something I think was clearly not in a trader's best interest. Our office offered us the chance to trade 200 share lots (in 1996) for $5/trade as well as trading on a simulator. I think the simulator often gave aspiring traders generous fills. I think we were limited to doing the $5 trades for a month. Then it was like $25/trade (each way) and we often had ECN fees on top of the $25. So we typically traded at least 1000 shares. Commissions today are a fraction of what they were just 20 years ago.

The guy who ran the office was an ex broker and had some monster days back in the late 90's early 2000's. He could make (lose) as much as $40K a day and spoke as if he had made (lost) $400 rather than $40K.

Eventually I quit trading at the office and traded remote from home. At first I missed the camaraderie of all the other traders but adjusted to it and would periodically stop by the office just to see how everyone was doing. Saving the time of the daily commute to/from the office was more time for me to do whatever each day. Which led me to volunteering at schools helping kids with math and still having time to trade so it was a win-win.

 

[eganon69]

Handle123 I agree with much of what you say. Each of us has the ability for self sabotage and destruction. We all do it to some degree or another. It's when we realize that WE are in control of that that I started to do well. I am not saying we can control the markets any more than we can control the weather but we can control our reaction to them. I don't trade full time as I have a fruitful career but I do trade successfully on longer term times frames. For me I found that BOTH my career and trading changed and improved after I read Van Tharpes book "Supertrader". Despite your views that Van Tharpes self help psycho stuff is not helpful, (I know it sounds cliche,...) but it changed my life. I am a very logical thinking person and thankfully have had a good childhood so my demons were more of the wanting a big win, roller coaster feeling you get with big wins and losses. That book seemed like it was written FOR ME,...like he was talking to ME. In that book he basically says "GET OFF YOUR ASS....NO ONE IS GOING TO HAND IT TO YOU,...AND STOP DOING STUPID SHIT"! Thankfully, I took most of it to heart and set some goals and started hard work. But that hard work also made me work harder at my career and both flourished. I think deeper issues many people faced in childhood or life that thankfully I have not faced will indeed require professional help. But for me that psychobabble from the book "Supertrader" did it for me.

Just my 0.02

 

[fordewind]

Biggest challenge is not messing with the chop anymore.

 

[signalmaster]

The biggest challenge is accepting a loss despite using a good trading system. But if you don't, you can't learn from the loss.

 

[Simples]

Biggest challenge ATM seems to be avoiding making my system perform worse. You know that saying of continuous improvement? Seems default human behaviour is continuous worsening!

However, the effort also makes me learn more about where it should maybe be heading in the future. So all in all, and this might be cliché, but I've learned to find the constructive and positive in all, even the dark stuff (put it aside and just let it be). There's usually a gain amid all the losses. Just make sure the losses become smaller and less damaging, some kind of dampening if you will..

I also hope people post here for their personal journeys and sharing, and not to promote their business or for marketing purposes. I firmly believe there's enough marketing in this world now.

 

[Andrea Wylan]

Anyone with a goal of becoming a trader - must learn self reliance and personal accountability

We are what we are..., we do what we do..., we think what we think - because we've decided to make it so

Regardless whether we were dropped on our head as a small child..., or not

=========================




The single most powerful thing we can do - is to actually do

Repeatedly..., and consistently

Regardless of each trade's outcome

Regardless what we think..., want..., hope.., how we feel..., what life is throwing our way


Now.., one could argue (correctly so) - without the "correct" mindset - the doing is impossible - and I would not disagree (a trader's mindset is the very foundation upon which everything else is built)

However..., one could very well have the "correct" mindset..., and still not be able to do

Doing (correctly..., consistently..., repeatedly..., without hesitation or reservation) is what separates successful traders from the rest

======================




Knowing the very next trade.., one takes..., could very well break down and be a loser

And this losing trade could drain one's account bone dry..., even worse

So one manages their self..., and each trade - accordingly..., without hesitation or reservation

Is the best predictor of success


Everything else is pure speculation as to one's ultimate attainment

=============================
btw

The above I last quoted is all good and well....

But a quieted..., peaceful..., centered..., and objective mind -> is by far and away better (and imho necessary)..., especially for trading

================

Aside:

I trust you've come here as a trader - to learn..., share..., grow - and not with ulterior motive

If the former - Welcome!!!!

If the latter - good luck with that

RN

Redneck, thanks for the welcome. I am glad to have found this community.
Well said RE the mindset!