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Hey man - I have been through most of what you are going through. And i can tell you are a Mark Douglas fan, so am I. If you havent read it already, check out Trade Mindfully by Gary Dayton. It builds on Douglas and is a good read and helpful to trading mindfully. Way of the Warrior Trader is also a good read in the psychology area.
I have not looked at your setups or entries so maybe he is right, but i have to disagree with farmer55. Trading is entirely a mental game. I do agree with the "see trade, take trade" but it is very hard to get there without understanding yourself first. Not to mention the other variables (stop, target, exit?, hold?). To say "all this other stuff is garbage" shows he must not understand it himself, or he would praise the idea of trading mindfully.
But based on what i have read in your thread, i think these few things might help you.
*decrease your position and trade the "i dont care" size. if you are SIM trading, switch to real money in a forex market with a small position (or if you have deep pockets maybe ETF's like SPY / SDS).
*focus on one market, one time frame
*determine your trading style (always in, swing, or scalper) (Or if you are like me, whatever the market is currently offering in terms of opportunity, but i suggest sticking with one. Atleast try each one for a few weeks at a time until you have a good understanding of which you are good at / not so good at and go from there).
*Most important of all..... Get off these forums. You will not find what you are missing here and you are wasting your time. No one can tell you the "secret". You must discover it inside of yourself. All you are doing here is feeding, inflating, and deflating your ego which contradicts the goal of trading mindfully. I know this from personal experience (see my post history). Now i rarely post unless i see something interesting which i can relate to (like this thread). Sorry to those who disagree, but I feel it is the truth.
And remember, there is a reason why most people fail at trading. It is very hard, and you have to overcome yourself and evolutionary "flaws" which prevent good trading. It takes a long time, so dont be so hard on yourself. Acknowledge your mistakes and move on. Never look back. Just look forward to the next trade (mental parking).
It's funny to me that there's a debate about what's more important Psychology or Trade mechanics. They are two sides of the same coin. I agree with farmer that you have to have a profitable way of trading to achieve success but you also have to have a grasp on your own thoughts so that you don't mess that profitable way up with fear or greed.
Understanding your own psychology and why you do what you do IMHO is just as important to trade execution as have a good plan. If you have a good plan and are executing it well . . . Bravo! Don't fix what aint broken. If you believe you have a good plan but can't consistently execute it . . . understanding your psychology and then building good habits to correct it, is the way to success.
Wishing you good success in your journey towards profitable trading.
Mighty
Some people are fortunate in that the mental aspect of trading is a little speed bump to get over. For me the technical is easy peasy but the mental side is absolutely brutal. One thing I found difficult to deal with was knowing that I was just the same as every other wannaby trader. When I started I thought I was unique and different and a little bit special from the rest of the herd but soon realised the harsh bright truth of that little illusion.
There comes a point though when you have to pull your socks up and get out of the victim mentality because in a perverse way, focusing on overcoming the mental hardship only reinforces its strength and power.
Everyone here has good comments. From my side I just want to say that I know what youre going through and how difficult it is.
Thank you all for your comments.
Yes i'm am absolutely Mark Douglas fan. His work on the subject has changed and is changing my perspective.
My trading set ups are good, i just need to learn to make the commitment. I must create a "trading the set up" habit.
This little trading journal on this forum is simply about my transition. From an analyst to a trader.
I don't think you can follow the rules all at once. Train yourself to master one rule at a time then move on to the next one. That is why it take such a long time to master all the rules.
You seem confident that you have a proven technical edge.
How do you know you have an actual edge?
Is this objectively proven or could there be various confirmation biases in there?
Prior to actually having a technical edge the goal of sorting out the psychological side of trading is a bit like chasing a black cat in a dark room.
Mark Douglas talked about finding and understanding the set up by tracking it for 20 times or more.
And finding out how the set up performs over that period. I have objectively done that already multiple times. On multiple instruments.
The set up performs very well over the period of 20 times or more.
The reason i'm having a problem is because i expect an individual trade to work. As oppose to a series of trades.
Ok if the edge is certainly there...and 20 visually based back tests is not sufficient...but 100 might be IF there is no hidden cognitive biases in there.......
.....then you are in the realm of taming the monkey within....
Can take awhile.
I like many of your affirmations. Might apply some to my monkey.
Just a question
If the edge is mathematically there
Why is it there?
It is very helpful to not only know it exists but to know why it does .....this can help the confidence a lot.
imagine that you were trading your setup at 50c at a time.
imagine you are trading 1 lot at a time with $1,000,000,000 billion in your account.
imagine you are at a casino betting your home on a coin flip.
you want to sit somewhere in the middle where your risk of ruin is comfortable.
traders sometimes think its their emotions that are the problem, when really you should listen to your emotions. instincts are right. if you have fear you are not trading sustainably.