At the very beginning of my trading days there were many things distracting me, for example my playing kids. On the screen there was so much happening like the tick by tick price movement, TICK & TRIN action, cash market action and lots more, that I don’t even remember now. I used to watch TV a lot more years ago than I do now in order to decide if I’m taking or not taking a trade. One little thing that I remember being a big change for me then was the color choice of my candles. My trader friend had told me that red and green have too much in common with our money thoughts, so I changed the colors to blue and yellow. It looked and felt better right away. I mention it just to give you an idea of how even the smallest things around us can affect our trading, and why we need to be more consciously aware of our surroundings and habits.
My most prominent feeling while trading was always and still is anxiety. And this shows up at every possible moment. I feel anxious before a trade because I’m thinking if I should take it or not, then during the trade because I’m looking at the profit and thinking about money that’s left on the table. Anxiety might even show up around our good thoughts as well as bad, and fighting that feeling is very hard.
“...it’s not the thoughts of performance that take you away from your focus, but your identification with those thoughts.”*
During so many trades that I took, and while going through them afterwards again I looked for both my mistakes and good behavior. The biggest step forward was setting targets for each and every single trade before I was even in it, and of course having a stop placement as soon as I was in the trade. Here I gladly admit that I’ve never traded without the stop, and if you – the reader – are trading without it then you should take a break from trading until you understand what you’re doing. This is probably the biggest mistake you can ever make! It’s said that you can manage only your risk, never your gains, and for me this is the biggest truth I ever heard and understood.
“Many traders’ problems show up in how they handle opportunity, not loss.”*
Since I decided to change my trading habits I’ve developed a list of tasks to get done every morning before starting a trading day. During the morning hours of most days I have to prepare my kids for school and of course each of us traders has things to do before the bell that require our attention. Afterwards, to prepare myself for the day I need to go over all my charts, review my main rules and then set my brain for positive thinking. For me this is meditation, quiet time when I choose the things I’d like to forget and those I’d like to continue doing or do better than yesterday. Music, slow breathing and a comfortable sitting position helps me to switch my brain into the relaxed mode of a positive-thoughts trader in the zone. For me it has become very important to be ready, to get everything set that I need before I start looking for trades. Luckily, since I don’t trade before any kind of news, I sometimes have a lot more time, because the news often comes on at 9 am Central Standard.
“Negative thoughts are inevitable; the question is whether you buy into them.”*
*LESSON 7 The Daily Trading Coach 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist by Steenbarger, Brett N.
My most prominent feeling while trading was always and still is anxiety. And this shows up at every possible moment. I feel anxious before a trade because I’m thinking if I should take it or not, then during the trade because I’m looking at the profit and thinking about money that’s left on the table. Anxiety might even show up around our good thoughts as well as bad, and fighting that feeling is very hard.
“...it’s not the thoughts of performance that take you away from your focus, but your identification with those thoughts.”*
During so many trades that I took, and while going through them afterwards again I looked for both my mistakes and good behavior. The biggest step forward was setting targets for each and every single trade before I was even in it, and of course having a stop placement as soon as I was in the trade. Here I gladly admit that I’ve never traded without the stop, and if you – the reader – are trading without it then you should take a break from trading until you understand what you’re doing. This is probably the biggest mistake you can ever make! It’s said that you can manage only your risk, never your gains, and for me this is the biggest truth I ever heard and understood.
“Many traders’ problems show up in how they handle opportunity, not loss.”*
Since I decided to change my trading habits I’ve developed a list of tasks to get done every morning before starting a trading day. During the morning hours of most days I have to prepare my kids for school and of course each of us traders has things to do before the bell that require our attention. Afterwards, to prepare myself for the day I need to go over all my charts, review my main rules and then set my brain for positive thinking. For me this is meditation, quiet time when I choose the things I’d like to forget and those I’d like to continue doing or do better than yesterday. Music, slow breathing and a comfortable sitting position helps me to switch my brain into the relaxed mode of a positive-thoughts trader in the zone. For me it has become very important to be ready, to get everything set that I need before I start looking for trades. Luckily, since I don’t trade before any kind of news, I sometimes have a lot more time, because the news often comes on at 9 am Central Standard.
“Negative thoughts are inevitable; the question is whether you buy into them.”*
*LESSON 7 The Daily Trading Coach 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist by Steenbarger, Brett N.
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