Failure to pull the trigger!

Quote from ashantt:

I have been trading for a year and I still am nervous to enter a trade even when I see a signal. Does anyone else have this problem? How long does this fear of "maybe I'm wrong" last? Do I just need a string of wins for the fear to go away? And why do I want to trade large amounts when I know I should only be trading 2% of my capital on my trade. Am I showing tendencies of blowing out really soon?
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Sweating palms…, palpitating heart rate…, labored breathing…, racing thoughts…, queasiness in the stomach… right when you should be entering / exiting a trade


Yeah – been there – done that

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Does anyone else have this problem? How long does this fear of "maybe I'm wrong" last?

Don't be fooled - most everyone does / or did at some point in their journey…..

And because of this



I have been trading for a year and I still am nervous to enter a trade even when I see a signal.


You have this (yes I’m stating the obvious)



Do I just need a string of wins for the fear to go away?

No – this will only set you up for an epic failure (epic in the form of being reluctant to exit a loser….) Your string of wins will have convinced you the loser you’re currently in will turn profitable if you only hang in there long enough.. It won’t till you’ve blown out your account


And why do I want to trade large amounts when I know I should only be trading 2% of my capital on my trade.

This is a different issue you’ll need to resolve



Am I showing tendencies of blowing out really soon?

Potentially - but that ultimately be you choice, AND it will be based solely on your actions


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You have two separate issues – although they have a common denominator – You, and your beliefs (mental makeup) – good news fixing item 1 will go a long way to fixing item 2


1 You don’t fully appreciate every trade can be a loser – thus you are not managing your risk correctly, accepting (exiting) each loser as it happens , then moving on to the next trade


2 Wanting to trade large amounts – is a symptom of not understand what trading is – a grind, a job, a reoccurring series of simple actions - that performed correctly (not perfectly – just correctly) lead to profit…

However if one focuses on the profit (instead of the actions) – that will simply lead to a blow out..


Traders are first.., foremost.., and always - Risk Managers

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You need to de-energize the fear, and build a new way of viewing trading (new beliefs)


Here’s a tool


Take a piece of paper and label it “Why I am afraid to take a trade”

Sit quietly and write out every reason (spend some time and thought on this) why you are afraid


Next take each of the reasons you’ve written down and do the same exercise, on separate sheets of paper, for each of these reasons (a separate sheet for each initial reason)


Continue doing this until you can no longer drill down… This will be your core (root) reason – that’ll you’ll need to change.

Don’t be surprised if each of the initial reasons you captured for being afraid – lead to the same core (root) reason (mine did)


Get to this point and you need additional help – say so and I’ll post some ideas



You ultimate goal; Is to begin thinking and acting like a trader


What that means in simple terms

Every moment in the market is unique
Anything can and will happen
Doesn’t matter what I think – only how
Doesn’t matter what I think – only what I do
I will never know what the outcome of any given trade will be, nor do I need to
I simply trade what I see (trade what price is doing)
I know where I will be wrong and I exit my losers with out hesitation or reservation
I will then move on to the next trade
Sitting on my hands – while either in a trade…, or flat – is an important skill


There is more – but this will get you started


You want to be a trader – time to do some work (or not – it is your choice)




Successful Journey

RN
 
Quote from ashantt:

I have been trading for a year and I still am nervous to enter a trade even when I see a signal.

Does anyone else have this problem? How long does this fear of "maybe I'm wrong" last? Do I just need a string of wins for the fear to go away? And why do I want to trade large amounts when I know I should only be trading .....
More...
==============
Mr Ash;
The reason why you, I, or anyone is gun shy;
is simply lack of experience[ not pulling the trigger enough years].

Ps;
Dry firing/
empty revolver/paper trading helps, but simply pulling the trigger,
many years helps. Thats wisdom.

And no such thing as a business plan/business that has no exspences[losses]:D

Frankly when that sentence[truth] is in every fiber of your being[may take years] problem is solved, takes year for a brain surgeon to go to school.

Then long hours/low pay as intern ...:cool:
 
what was your previous profession,visualize that job in steps i.e... a carpenter... 1 board at time...accountant.. 1 entry at a a time...dry cleaner...i customer comes to the counter at a time....7 -11...maybe 1 lotto ticket, 1 pack of smokes....get the picture.. the big picture is made up of a thousand small pictures...each board could be cut wrong,accounting entry off,garment ruined.lotto ticket mis typed..but they are not ... a certain low percentage are...it's inevitable......you are going to make bad trades, you are going to make mistakes, bad reads,as a matter of fact 95% of your trades are going to be wrong on the next tick...except that as normal....so fear of being wrong is validated...but losing is another story..how tight are your stops..how big are your profit expectations, just a winner or follow it to the target...maybe its not you..maybe you have a plan that's full of holes and you know it......it's incomplete,i dont know, speak up, how do you trade...went back and read a few of your posts and i don't think you know how to trade....i know guys who were successful for 20 years on the floor and it takes some of em 3 years to figure out how to trade technically....i think your fear is justified....redneck gave nodoji a lot of tips ..dont know the name of the thread ..look it up..daytrading is really hard with the hft's and lower volume..you could learn a lot by handcharting the es on market profile..you could trade trendlines ...patterns....pick a couple and paper trade em for a year....don't make a trade without a setup..write down the setup for each trade ,give it a name,see which name was the most profitable over a series of trades,start with that setup while you learn a few more
 
Quote from ashantt:

I have been trading for a year and I still am nervous to enter a trade even when I see a signal. Does anyone else have this problem? How long does this fear of "maybe I'm wrong" last? Do I just need a string of wins for the fear to go away? And why do I want to trade large amounts when I know I should only be trading 2% of my capital on my trade. Am I showing tendencies of blowing out really soon?
More...

Your position size is too large and the result is the nervousness you get upon trade entry or failure to enter the trade. Simply, lower your position size dramatically to a point where you're not nervous, afraid or missing trades due to too large of a position.

Yeah, if you don't resolve something like this that's so easy to fix via lowering your position size...you have the traits of someone that has a good chance of blowing up or burn-out from the consistent stress of putting on too big of a position size.

Also, nobody can really answer that other question about why you want to trade above your money management parameters unless you provide some in-depth information about other variables (e.g. finances, debts, personality trait, trading environment, daily routine, type of trading, trading instruments et cetera).

My point is that everybody that trades "too big of a position size" has a different reason why they do such and in some situations...a person may have a new reason on any given trading day. That's the reason why the easy & quick fix is to immediately lower your position size to give you time to resolve the real reasons that's causing you to trade too large.

Mark
 
You trade bigger than you should -- because you lack patience.

You want the money now. This will cloud your perception and your ability to manage a trade properly.

Quote from ashantt:

I have been trading for a year and I still am nervous to enter a trade even when I see a signal. Does anyone else have this problem? How long does this fear of "maybe I'm wrong" last? Do I just need a string of wins for the fear to go away? And why do I want to trade large amounts when I know I should only be trading 2% of my capital on my trade. Am I showing tendencies of blowing out really soon?
More...
 
Quote from ammo:

http://www.trading-naked.com/Articles_and_Reprints.htm
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I must confess this is my daily 'prayer'....as crazy as it may sound,when I don't refer to it before my trading day...I find a way to not to do everything I am supposed to be doing and it usually costs me...

OP the responses you have received on this thread is as genuine and accurate as anything you will read in any few trading books...please re read ALL the responses...even print them..

Please heed the advises offered as you will save yourself a tremendous amount of time...go to the 'prayer' each day...will be a great start.

NiN
 
Quote from Now is Now:

I must confess this is my daily 'prayer'....as crazy as it may sound,when I don't refer to it before my trading day...I find a way to not to do everything I am supposed to be doing and it usually costs me...

OP the responses you have received on this thread is as genuine and accurate as anything you will read in any few trading books...please re read ALL the responses...even print them..

Please heed the advises offered as you will save yourself a tremendous amount of time...go to the 'prayer' each day...will be a great start.

NiN
More...

+1 :)
 
Dr. Rande Howell has a great presentation on the 9 Fears of Trading. Is sounds like you have the Fear of being Wrong. In the end, he talks about being able to control the inner dialogue going on in your head. Past Results vs. Future potential.
 
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