Every trading session I start with a quite positive attitude. I wrote about it already repeatedly, how important good preparation from the mental side is. Today I would like to approach the subject a little bit differently. I will try to show you how attitude in trading can affect your results.
How not to expect too much from the session, because it ends usually poorly :)) Very often too high self-confidence, routine or complacency may firmly confuse even the good traders. About such cases I we will discuss today.
Limited time
“At 5pm I have a meet with friends, so I must quickly earn and go.”
Did you ever say something like that? I did. The effect was that I quickly lost, and I didn’t go for a meeting, because my ambition ordered to play it wisely and to sit up to the end of session and make it up or even to leave on a plus.
Putting a time limit is good. Not necessarily, and certainly it isn’t good in daytrading. If I have to write an article on the website and I know that I have only an hour – ok, I will sit down and write it.
However, planning a specific profit which I wanted to carry out to a certain hour may end up with finding the way by force. Not always the market is suitable to play.
I’m the master of situation
A series of excellent results, weeks or months without a day on minus – Who wouldn’t feel like a master of the market:) You may rage like a beast and receive a neat lesson from the market. After a long stretch of successes, the profit in session is perceived as a formality. “Today I will earn” it’s a daily routine. You launch the platform with attitude that today (just like yesterday or day before) you will earn again easily.
And, of course, it may happen, but eventually the day of loss will come. The loss about which you managed to forget; therefore I try to perceive a new session as the new beginning, not being influenced by a profit of the day before. What yesterday was, it was yesterday. Today the market may behave totally different. My job is to wait until a chance to play will appear under played strategy. Nothing by force!
After a definitely better session
Our psyche usually works that we remember the last trading. And more rarely we look at them in a wider prospect. When our last plays brought extremely big profits, we start to measure higher. Results from a few days suddenly aren’t enough for you. It is similarly as with losses.
Similarly, in my case I could relate e.g. to the Monday session. I gained profits much exceeding my average daily profits from the recent time. However, I didn’t demand on the second day i.e. Tuesday to achieve a similar result. I knew that such profits like on Monday are rare, and it was necessary to use it. On the next day the market could change, it could reach another strong decline. I didn’t know that, but I also didn’t expect anything specific. I decided to wait and see what the market will show.
I never aim on a level of dollar profits. I noticed many years ago that when I make plans e.g. I will gain today 1 k$, somehow magically I carried out from a level e.g. 990$ with backflow a
profit of 500$. The closer I was of planned profit, all the more firmly I wanted to overdub precisely to this amount. And let’s be honest what difference if there is 990$, ant not 1000$ on plus; whether 4980$, and not 5000$. The round number looks more nicely, but it only constitutes 10-20$ of difference.
After a spectacular session, very successful month – I don’t require to repeat it.
I feel that I will lose today
DejaVu, or maybe just a negative attitude towards the session. Sometimes we get up on the left foot, and we don’t feel willingness to many things. So, generally speaking, in such a case for what to sit down at the trading position?
Working in the office, school or as a journalist – sometimes you don’t have a mood, strength to work, or strength to say for another hour. Would you like to take some time off in such a case? As the employee you would have the right to it. As a trader – you also have it. You appoint when you have a time off. Don’t forget about it 🙂
Trading with a negative attitude often ends with greater loss than you assumed. I remember a few months ago, when before session I said to my friend “I feel that today I will lose”. And as I said, it happened 🙂 From this moment, when I only have a negative attitude, I let go.
Well, when I’ll earn! 🙂
I admit that I achieve good results when I have a quite neutral attitude. I don’t aim to gain profit in dollar on a given day, week or month. I approach to the session easy, expecting that I’ll play what the market will give, and I will earn as much as it will allow.
I have always attitude that it is this session in which I will earn. However, when any above described states appears in my in head: I let go and don’t trade, or I trade without bigger fire inside.
What is your attitude before opening the position? And maybe one of the above also applies to your behavior? Feel free to add comments.
