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How To Overcome TILT (anger) When Trading ~ The Mental Game of Trading
None of the suggestions (limiting trades, writing a trading plan) will work for you. The answer is simple: your subconscious programs based on your beliefs will not support them. If you make 3 trades and lose 2, the third one will be your downfall because for you, trading equals money. Maybe you can tolerate it for one day, but not anymore.
Your subconscious mind is more powerful than your conscious mind. That's why you get blocked or angry, you have a conflict between the two, and your subconscious mind always wins. On one hand, consciously, you don't want to blow up your account, but subconsciously, your mind is in a defensive state when you lose. That state is based on your beliefs about money. Your environment, experiences, and education have contributed to these beliefs, and that's what you are.
Trading is so challenging because it requires a 360° shift in beliefs. For example, losing is useful. What? Ask your environment, I doubt it's the education you've received, and even less likely, it's something your mind desires. Losing is equivalent to failing, that's the program with which 100% of traders approach this work.
You're not a weirdo, not even an exception, you're the norm. The root of your problem is simple: your beliefs don't support you. Without that support, you'll spin in circles without finding the solution.
Remember, this is you when trading:
I belief in impulsive actions for quick profits.
I belief that losses must be immediately recovered.
I have lack of patience and a need for immediate results.
I have emotional attachment to trading outcomes.
I have overconfidence based on past successes.
External factors as the primary cause of trading outcomes.
This is who you need to become (360°):
Belief in thoughtful and strategic actions for sustainable profits.
Acceptance that losses are part of the trading journey and not necessarily require immediate recovery.
Patience and understanding that results take time, avoiding the need for immediate gratification.
Detachment from emotional reactions to trading outcomes, maintaining a rational and disciplined approach.
Humility and recognition that past successes do not guarantee future results, avoiding overconfidence.
Taking personal responsibility for trading outcomes and acknowledging that external factors are not the primary cause, but rather one's own decisions and actions.
If you click on this link you will go to the first post of the thread, and you can read through from there. It's on page 6 now, so there's a lot of interest in discipline problems. Naturally -- it's one of the major issues everyone faces.
Speaking about DISCIPLINE. You need discipline when your beliefs are contrary or not aligned with what you want to do.
This morning I was talking to an acquaintance, and he made a "curious" comment. They don't buy things from other people or at least from unknown individuals. They don't need discipline for that, in fact, just thinking about that idea generates immediate rejection for them. This same person has been telling me why.
It turns out that in their family, they have had several experiences with spiritualism and the adverse effects of certain things. All of the experiences have been negative. Their brother-in-law, wearing a necklace around his neck, felt suffocated, just like that. An object fell in their business, it stayed there on the ceiling, and shortly after, it closed down. His wife doesn't want to go to her mother's house because she always buys things from other people. Discipline? No, they don't need it, their beliefs support their actions.
Their beliefs are neither good nor bad. They are their beliefs. Based on their experiences, education, and so on. I have no problem buying things from strangers. In fact, I see it as an advantage on many occasions, and I have done it without any issues.
Trading is not a matter of discipline, of controlling your emotions... no. Trading is a matter of beliefs. The sooner you understand that, the easier it is to work on the root cause.
If you want to change your beliefs, here is a way to start working on it:
1. Self-Awareness: Understand your current beliefs and their impact on your trading performance. I think you know that now.
2. Education and Knowledge: Invest time in learning about trading principles, strategies, and risk management. If you have it, good point.
3. Challenge Negative Beliefs: Identify and replace negative beliefs with positive and constructive ones.
There are a lot of techniques you can use to do that:
Emotional Anchoring
Limiting Beliefs Balance
Conscious Breathing and Affirmations
Hemisphere Integration and Visualization
Broadening Perspective
Reinforcement of Values
Internal Dialogue
Cognitive Restructuring
4. Positive Affirmations: Develop and repeat positive statements to reinforce your new beliefs.
Few examples:
"Losses are part of the trading journey, and I learn valuable lessons from them."
"I embrace losses as opportunities for growth and improvement in my trading skills."
"Accepting losses with grace and resilience is a sign of a disciplined trader."
"I release any emotional attachment to losses and focus on long-term profitability."
"Each loss brings me closer to my ultimate trading success."
"I trust my risk management strategy to protect my capital and guide my trading decisions."
"I am confident in my ability to recover from losses and adapt to changing market conditions."
"I maintain a healthy mindset and recognize that accepting losses is a sign of strength and wisdom in trading."
5. Visualization and Mental Practice: Use visualization techniques to imagine successful trading scenarios and emotions.
The most key tool to grow and help your path to new beliefs. You can imagine whatever you want. This is the incredible part of this tool. Use and feel your emotions when you do visualizations.
6. Support Network: Surround yourself with supportive traders and mentors who share your goals.
7. Journaling and Reflection: Maintain a trading journal to track progress and identify patterns.
8. Consistency: Practice implementing new beliefs consistently, and sticking to your plan and strategies.
The last post above is a standalone post, but was really a comment on the one prior, which was deleted as spam. Oh well
I think it's still valid and had some deeper implications on dopamine management. I posted a cool video about that in the Discipline Problems thread. Plus it just puts into perspective how far & deep we look when sometimes it's really simple. You just have to take a different perspective.
You can't outsource confidence in trading decisions
