Today, I'm out of the market at a loss of $$$ and it's not even 6 am.
I decided to start this journal to help me be transparent about my trading. Because, I know that when I go golfing later, if anyone asks me how my trading is.. I'm not gonna tell them that I had a break even week. I'm more likely to say something like "Great. I'm developing some new strategies that I need to test." - Which is true.. just not entirely. I'm not gonna admit that I entered trades presumptively, outside of my risk threshold. I'm also not gonna admit that I'm cut deep inside. I'm cut by the fact that this week (even though I traded at break even), was a loss. My dear friends, time is our greatest asset. To me, the problem is that on huge days, I usually won't hesitate to respond with something like "I made so much money, I won't have to work for a while". But, the little secret it that even if I don't have to work, I still want to put on another trade. Shhh. It's a secret.
My dear friends, time is the greatest commodity.
It's easy to make excuses like.. "there are some losses in trading". Yes, I know there is. But, the fact is that my loss ratio was above my required specs, yet I continued to trade. I was not following my rules. I believe it was Bruce Lee that said, "Knowing is not enough."
Currently, the edges that I trade successfully require me to wait. I could use some intraday strategies to keep me from getting bored. Or, perhaps I may start trading more markets. But for me to test these "new strategies" with cash is plain dumb. I have other ways to test them that don't involve going outside of my risk comfort.
One of my goals is to not overtrade (as a consistent, hard, fast rule). I like to be as the crocodile. The crocodile is adaptive and ferocious. But, it lays still with stealth force (beady, cold blooded eyes peeking out of the water), until dinner is ready.
Little background about myself: I'm 38 yrs old. I graduated with a degree in Psychology/Addiction Studies minor. I worked for many years in the real estate and mortgage industry. In about 2001, I was inspired to begin trading after watching a guy that would reliably predict interest rate moves by watching the Fannie Mae bond. I worked in the real estate/mortgage industry until 2007. Then, the housing market just wasn't the same anymore. At that time, I made the best trade ever... I quit my job.
I'm a futures trader.
Couple of other things: 1) I will most likely not respond to questions about my trading strategy. 2) I am highly likely to ignore extremely negative or cynical comments. Don't take it personal. I prefer not to reinforce negative behavior. 3) I'm very likely to turn a negative into a positive. It's just me...
On a side note: Today I just told my "friend gal" that today I traded at a loss. It didn't go as bad as I imagined. LOL.
Trade on!
I decided to start this journal to help me be transparent about my trading. Because, I know that when I go golfing later, if anyone asks me how my trading is.. I'm not gonna tell them that I had a break even week. I'm more likely to say something like "Great. I'm developing some new strategies that I need to test." - Which is true.. just not entirely. I'm not gonna admit that I entered trades presumptively, outside of my risk threshold. I'm also not gonna admit that I'm cut deep inside. I'm cut by the fact that this week (even though I traded at break even), was a loss. My dear friends, time is our greatest asset. To me, the problem is that on huge days, I usually won't hesitate to respond with something like "I made so much money, I won't have to work for a while". But, the little secret it that even if I don't have to work, I still want to put on another trade. Shhh. It's a secret.
My dear friends, time is the greatest commodity.
It's easy to make excuses like.. "there are some losses in trading". Yes, I know there is. But, the fact is that my loss ratio was above my required specs, yet I continued to trade. I was not following my rules. I believe it was Bruce Lee that said, "Knowing is not enough."
Currently, the edges that I trade successfully require me to wait. I could use some intraday strategies to keep me from getting bored. Or, perhaps I may start trading more markets. But for me to test these "new strategies" with cash is plain dumb. I have other ways to test them that don't involve going outside of my risk comfort.
One of my goals is to not overtrade (as a consistent, hard, fast rule). I like to be as the crocodile. The crocodile is adaptive and ferocious. But, it lays still with stealth force (beady, cold blooded eyes peeking out of the water), until dinner is ready.
Little background about myself: I'm 38 yrs old. I graduated with a degree in Psychology/Addiction Studies minor. I worked for many years in the real estate and mortgage industry. In about 2001, I was inspired to begin trading after watching a guy that would reliably predict interest rate moves by watching the Fannie Mae bond. I worked in the real estate/mortgage industry until 2007. Then, the housing market just wasn't the same anymore. At that time, I made the best trade ever... I quit my job.
I'm a futures trader.
Couple of other things: 1) I will most likely not respond to questions about my trading strategy. 2) I am highly likely to ignore extremely negative or cynical comments. Don't take it personal. I prefer not to reinforce negative behavior. 3) I'm very likely to turn a negative into a positive. It's just me...
On a side note: Today I just told my "friend gal" that today I traded at a loss. It didn't go as bad as I imagined. LOL.
Trade on!