Fellow Traders / Psycho-Analysts:
Today is one of those days when every expectation I put in place is correct. Every push is in the direction I expect. Every signal taken works out. Signals not taken worked out. And moves are to or through my exit points. I can't possibly fail, not even once.
Okay, based on that last comment, I've stopped trading for the day. And, I have yesterday's results to keep my feet on the ground.
What's so different between yesterday and today? Both days I sat down with the goal of properly executing my trades. Both days I made the commitment to succeed. Both days I reviewed my strategies and how I planned to trade them. Yesterday I got clobbered, and today I surpassed my daily target by 11:00am.
One difference is that I approached the markets today with some expectations on direction, etc. But I was willing to acknowledge that anything could happen, and as long as I position myself properly and am open to the opportunities presented, I could be profitable. So my expectations are/aren't right, so what? Just trade based on what the market is doing now. Don't keep asking, "How could the market possibly be doing that?"
Another difference is that I made myself focus on the fact that it is okay to miss a trade. What happened yesterday (and numerous times before) is that a signal fires just after I log on to my platform. Instead of jumping in blindly after watching the market for 30 seconds (even though it is a strong signal), I watch the move and wait for the next signal to fire
(good thing). This first move--that I miss for good reasons--typically works out exceptionally well (had I been in it). This makes me anxious and perhaps not as careful when entering the next trades
(bad thing). If the first trade I take doesn't work out, the death spiral frequently starts. Well, today I missed the first trade because it fired before I had a feel for the market today. It was a doosie, would have been a perfect entry/perfect exit. No worries. Another signal came along ~ 20 minutes later. I took that in with good exit points established.
So, how do you keep a positive, resourceful attitude from one day to the next? It's more than having a trading plan or wanting to do well or having good intentions. It's an expectation of success. It's a willingness to open oneself to what opportunities are out there. It's an ability to see each trade as a discreet action without influence of previous trades, PnL, or prior signals taken/not taken.
Thoughts, recommendations, comments?
Thanks,
Bam-Bam
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Trading ain't horseshoes. You miss by a tick, you miss by the world.