Even though I won a few good trades this week, my account is still in a rut, to say the least. Like I mentioned in my previous entry, I should put more thought in how much I'm willing to risk per trade. More often than not, I just stick to a standard position size for my scalp trades since everything is so fast-paced. But, after reviewing some of my recent trades, I realized that the reason I've been losing each week is that my losers were bigger than my winners. Even though I won majority of my trades, the losing trades simply erased my gains.
This must be some sort of "emotional burn out" I'm going through because it's really tough to take one losing week after another and still muster enough confidence and optimism for yet another week. I think I've been resorting to blaming external factors again just to cope. At first, it was just as mundane as attributing my poor trading performance to the fact that I've got a lot on my mind lately or that I've been feeling exhausted. Later on, it evolved into something bordering on superstitious. Let me share some of the "theories" that we conjured:
Weird, huh? But we all have our ways of dealing with the stress that comes with trading. Whatever floats your boat. In my case, it can sometimes be comforting to just put the blame on something else and think that the market is out to get me. I'm worried this might turn into a bad habit though.
That's why I think Dr. Pipslow's article entitled "Look Inside Yourself" came just in time. This is my favorite part: "When you blame an external situation, you are giving up control, and instead letting yourself be controlled by outside events. This converts you from a proactive trader into a reactive trader. Or a winner into a whiner."
For the weekend, I'll take some time to review my recent (losing) trades and compare them with my earlier ones. Hopefully I can bounce back next week! Happy weekend everyone!
On Saturday September 11th, 2010 at 05:09AM by IamXavi Like - 0 People
alone, it'll eventually head your way. The market doesn't like being
stared at and it'll do anything to annoy you if you do."
LOL Happened to me a lot... except when I woke like 3 times in the morning to look at a loser position losing even more... had to close I couldn't sleep! lol, I'm good recognizing my defeats...
Nice post Kei
On Saturday September 11th, 2010 at 11:20AM by erib Like - 0 People
On Sunday September 12th, 2010 at 10:33PM by FXDude Like - 0 People
That is a great quote from Dr. Pipslow's article, and something we should all remind ourselves at the beginning of every day.
Good luck this week and if you're feeling burnt out... there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to clear your head... your account will probably thank you for it!
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