[walterw]

My experience:


_ One good setup
_ Discipline
_ Enjoy Trading


then I fool around with my curiosity but really never trade all does experiments.... just for fun.

Trading has to be a pleasant experience, and having only ONE good setup can be a good start to make it pleasant... cheers Walter.

[torero]

I think it's not about just being profitable but being consistently profitable. Anyone can at any point in time be profitable. But at some crucial moments where the old bad habits and self-idolatry sets in that gets the best of us. The problem is the maintain the state of mind and trading plan that keeps in the path of consistency. I know of guilty of fallacy from time to time. Old habits are hard to break (30 yrs of conditioning vs 6 yrs of rehabilitation), it's precisely the reason to rebuild and rehabilitate ourselves into a new routine that becomes almost unconscious routine. Hard to do but it's where it needs to be to get there.

[dalby]

i hired a mentor, and i got serious about my trading. i turned it into a business, not a hobby. that did it

[ItalianSharp]

I agree with almost all the posts above. I'll throw in something that hasn't been mentioned yet and which made a huge difference for me:

ACCOUNTABILITY

You ought to be accountable for your mistakes and errors and learn from them. When I first started off, I used to find justifications outside of my trading plan to explain my losses...I used to say the words "THEY SHOOK IT PRETTY BAD"...or "IT JUST DIDN'T WANT TO GO MY WAY"...or "THIS MARKET IS MANIPULATED BY THE BIG GUYS"...

The difference between now and then is that the above sayings haven't changed, while I HAVE CHANGED. I started to focus on the market and try to learn its behavior...I've been stalking the mkt for hrs, lots of screen time...And more importantly, I started to take responsibility and be accountable for my trading. There no longer is THEY, IT, etc....it's just ME.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by ItalianSharp »

I agree with almost all the posts above. I'll throw in something that hasn't been mentioned yet and which made a huge difference for me:

ACCOUNTABILITY

You ought to be accountable for your mistakes and errors and learn from them. When I first started off, I used to find justifications outside of my trading plan to explain my losses...I used to say the words "THEY SHOOK IT PRETTY BAD"...or "IT JUST DIDN'T WANT TO GO MY WAY"...or "THIS MARKET IS MANIPULATED BY THE BIG GUYS"...

The difference between now and then is that the above sayings haven't changed, while I HAVE CHANGED. I started to focus on the market and try to learn its behavior...I've been stalking the mkt for hrs, lots of screen time...And more importantly, I started to take responsibility and be accountable for my trading. There no longer is THEY, IT, etc....it's just ME.

good point Italian ¡¡¡ asuming your responsabilty its a great step too success¡¡ and promotes objective thinking in terms of real world trading...

when you start justificating you automatically become subjective... and being subjective in this bussiness its letal...

nice thread here.... cheers Walter.

[Uli Schmuli]

Detachment from the outcome is what did it for me. A good trading plan executed with precision & consistency will allow that detachment because you have complete confidence that your edge will prevail over time. I'm thanking everyone in this thread for some really great posts.

[Hlm]

A few things off the top of my head (not a full list)...

• Keeping everything dynamic and letting the market tell you what is going on.
• Trends within trends in a fractal like manner.
• The problem isn't indicators that average or lag, it's that they don't start and stop at important/logical points. (back to being dynamic)
• Detachment from the outcome. (what Uli Schmuli said)

[artrading]

Originally Posted by brownsfan019 »

Addict,
I think it's as simple as being confident in your setups and then consistently executing your trading plan.

I couldn't agree more Browns, I think I'm actually getting to that point - which will also be why I'm starting to see success on a much more regular basis. Committing to your trade and seeing it out can go a long way to reducing stress and the urge to give-up long term as well. For every losing trade, the knowledge that you followed your plan does help a little. On the other hand, breaking with your system may have an even worse effect and play on your mind (and hamper performance) for future sessions...

Confidence is a huge factor and I personally believe your posts elsewhere (about taking every setup presented) were correct as well. Maybe the difference between the Pro's and the rest of us is using discretion to increase Edge, but for the majority consistent execution of the setup (and the plan as a whole) has to be vital in achieving success / profitability

Just my