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Great stuff! I really see myself in your post about being able to see the things that you need to change and improve on and which habits are negatively impacting your trading but feeling like there is a glass wall that your are looking through and keeping you from accessing that change. Emotionally it really hits me hard. I feel like I am so weak of an individual when I continue to make the same mistakes over and over again but am unable to break free from these negitive traits. Reading some of your posts actually got me a little teary eyed, I know it sounds silly but it is true. Again, I THANK YOU!
Here I want to put some thoughts about trading and lifestyle.
Even though I haven't developped a success career in trading, but I'm always comtemplating how to achieve. It is not about consistent profitable, but a peaceful mind in trading and a colorful life. The objective of trading includes making money out of the market. But I should always remaind myself that any financial success is the by-product of successful mind and life control.
For me, choosing trading as my favorable job is not only because of potential profit, but also about the mind training on the way to succeed in trading. I would not give up trading even I'm offered plainty of money for exchange, because the lifestyle includes more than being rich, but being disciplined, being honest to myself. This is so difficult to do. So many times I spoiled my own plan, violated my own commitement. The problem always comes out at unexpected moment. When I wanted to begin writing this thread, I opened Firefox to check twitter and FB. When I senced the market was about to change, I cann't close my losing position, can't help to reenter the trade which I missed big profit by exiting too early.
Everytime I make the same mistake I'm angry about myself, but refused unconsciously to change. The reason is that deep down inside my mind, I actually accept all these outcome, they all in my comfort zone. Even throught the result is not my intention, but the process of making them makes me feel good, unconsciously.
To some extent, I kwow what to do, what to change, but it takes a lot of mental energy to do. I'm going to review my ideal lifestyle by breaking it down to some factors and principals, hope this can help me become more and more disciplinary.
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Lifestyle: I think lifestyle is a main structure to organize daily activities towards a better self.
factors: time, energy, object, routine, distraction.
Some principals:
Energy is naturally distributed through out a day, but the distribution can be adjusted by oneself.
Everyday should contain an object, so energy and time can be allocated accordingly.
Routines include both bad and good habits, they form the main structure and outlay of my daily activities
Distractioin decorates daily life, can be bad or good. It demands stability to prevent a good lifestyle being influenced by distraction.
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Should maintain a healthy lifestyle and be honest to myself, be disciplinary.
-->Set daily objective before the day (small, clear, measureable, timeline, margin)
-->Tract daily objective accomplishment (take note, review and adjustment)
I really enjoy reading your posts. They hit the nail on the head about how I also am feeling about my trading at times. I really enjoy reading your post about your struggles with discipline and I can relate. You have managed to put into words what I couldn't and that is pretty amazing. I have not read all your posts and I have only analysed a few of your trades so forgive me if I am wrong in assuming that you are attempting to scalp for most if not all of your trades. My question to you is why not try an other style of trading. Maybe scalping is not for you, or maybe the market you are trading is not for you and you should give another trading instrument a go. I might be worth considering. I lost 75% of a E-mini account I was trading about 10 years ago. I loose a lot less now that I just day trade stocks. Still working on breaking even but darn close so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I think many of the people that read your post are routing for you, I know I am!
Thank you Dragontrader, really appreciate your comments.
Yes, from the chart, I was doing mostly scalp, but believe me, that's not my real intention. Since you mentioned this point, I think it worth writing down some of my thoughts.
Sorry it's going to cover more than just response to your comments, me too, want to re-organize my thoughts.
One basic rule I've read from many trading books is: Profit = probability win * winning amount- probability loss * losing amount - commission/fee. Two facts here, possibility and amount.
Let me speak about my mistaking behavior pattern:
when I was in good mood, or mentally strong, I can make good judgement about the market movement. When I entered, once I hold a winning position, my desire of winning always forced me to exit as soos as some pullback occurs. So even during a strong trend, I cannot hold long enough, a swing trade turns into a scalp. Of course I'm not satisfied, but the market continues up, the eagerness to catch trend forces me to jump into the market. If the trend is strong or my second entry was not too bad, I'm again holding a winning position, so again may exited early. Even I intend to hold longer, we can imagine the further market moves in one direction, the pullback becomes stronger. Consequently, exited early again.
More often I exited early, stronger the desire of catch a real swing. When the market somehow really entered a trading range zone, I must holding a position consistantly changing from losing to winning and vice versa. I would not accept a scalp profit any more, I want a swing. Of course I cannot succeed, because the trend is dying. Then a possible winning scalp turns into a losing one, mood becomes angry at myself. If the market keeps chopping, it's ok, I may exited near B/E, if there is a deep pullback, I get frustrated. A scalp profit would be neutralized by a deep pull back. A day working for broker.
Ok, it takes thousands words but just one chart -->
For me, the possibility is much influence by my mental stability, so as the amount of winning and losing. So my main object is to force myself to get out of my comfort zone, break this vicious circle. Taking some losing trades or taking less profit definately is good price for that.
Of course, technical skill and experience matter a lot, but without mental stability, they cannot hold alone.
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About other instruments, I think the main problem is not there. Of course other instruments have different market behavior pattern. The key is in myself. I'm not able to fully control my mind yet, so I cannot and do not want to choose scalp or swing as my main trading style.
I think, of course, ideally, a completely self control trader with appropriate experience can trade most of instruments and under most market condition to achieve a good result. Then he/she may diversify trading style, choose one that fit more his/her personality or time schedule, choose others as complementary source of profit and experience.