Quote from daytraderpete:
All day long I sit at my terminal calling market turns for entries and exits. Why do I NOT take 100% of my signals? I am sure I am not the only one who does this.
Is it not trusting my system yet, or not trusting myself? I know my system and method works. I have spent too much time watchimg it prove itself over 3 yrs.
I you have gone through this and gotten through this point, how did you get through it? I think I have a problem with trying to be perfect, instead of probabilistic.
Daytraderpete:
You may know, i.e. are certain that your system and method works but are you really comfortable in carrying out and applying it to an environment (i.e. the market) that is inherently uncertain? What percentage of the signals do you actually end up taking or do you go though the day without taking any trades despite your signals?
I think trying to be âperfectâ definitely will contribute to the issue of hesitation when dealing in the marketplace. I know I have; like always looking for that absolutely perfect setup where everything lines up flawlessly only to fail to take the trade because I wanted ONE MORE confirmation just to be sureâ¦and then the opportunity slipped me by. I constantly wanted a high level of certainty that my trade will work out before pulling that trigger and hence, I hesitatedâ¦consistently. Ways that might help overcome that are to:
1. Take baby steps (and as vhehn alluded to, âplay smallâ) so you donât put so much importance (whether it be monetary importance or emotional importance) to that individual trade.
2. Relax. Set a goal of taking at least 1 valid signal (provided it occurs, of course) per day [again, I am not sure of the frequency of your signal occurrence] and gradually increase it until you are comfortable taking all of them as they come along during the session.
3. Flexibility. In the attempt to be perfect, is your system/method being too rigid? Remember, although the market is always right, it is not perfect. You may want to incorporate more flexibility in your system. The only thing that you should be perfect in when dealing with the market is the flawless execution of your system and rules.
4. Examine possible âfearsâ you might have that are veiled by this thing called âhesitationâ. Are you afraid of being âwrongâ? Are you afraid of breaking a âperfectâ track record youâve established thus far? Are you afraid of uncertainty? I donât know, but whatever it (they) might be, only you can answer that for yourself as you look inward.
5. Condition yourself to associate that by ânot taking a trade when your signal shows upâ, you are actually losing money. Money that could have been yours, are now in someone elseâs pockets.
Hope that can help.
Kermit
