[Anonymous]

Thanks to the wonderful people on this forum, I have been able to readdress this issue. In truth, I went back to a book that really shaped my belief system.

We all trade our belief systems.

I believe in surrendering to the market, in following it.

I believe in wanting what the market wants, not what I want.

I liken myself to a salmon egg floating down stream, going with the water. I do not know my destination, but I know the stream will get me there. The other traders are more like the adult salmon. Swimming against the current. Struggling to go up when the path of least resistance is down. For the egg, the destination is new life. For the adult, it is not.

Okay, so how does this work in terms of stops?

Once in a trade, I will only move my stop in the direction of the trade. As I said in another thread, I will only exit a trade with a profit by letting my stop get hit.

Exiting at a profit target is speculating on the future when it is not necessary to do so. Allowing the market to take you out, is dealing with things as they are, not as they should be.

On time stops. Here is where I had to go back and think about what I believe. If I exit at a time stop, then It is not about what the market wants but what I want. A time stop is saying, " I want x amount of handles/ticks/pips in x amount of time". The market does not care about what I want. It will take care of me, but on its terms not mine.

Things are different, however, when the trade moves against you from the start. I believe it is possible to know that you are on the wrong side of the trade PRIOR to your stop being hit. One does not have to wait for his stop to be hit to know he is at least wrong on timing and possibly right on direction. If your stop is 15 ticks away, I find it hard to believe you don't know you are wrong when price is 3 ticks away from your stop.

Can the market move 1 tick to your stop and then turn around? Certainly. So have the ability to get back into the market. If you are unable to get back in, well, there will always be more moves. The market will provide.

Don't concern yourself with "missed points". Stay in the moment. The real error is not what is "missed/given back" on this trade, it is not being in position to take advantage of the next opportunity because you were not in the moment. But rather still in the past asking "what if".