Hi everyone, this is my attempt at getting accountable to myself by recording my trading behaviour out in the open.
Just like a singer recording their own voice, picking up on mistakes and improving as a result, so too should this journal highlight flaws to learn from and successes to celebrate.
In addition to this, I am hopeful that this journal can assist others who experience similar highs and lows to myself, and let them know that they are not alone in feeling the frustration of this calling.
But a little about myself first and why I have started this thread.
I am 40 years old and have been trading for around 6 years. I did several expensive courses initially and thought I was immediately ready to get stuck into it with live $$$; my first mistake. Nobody is ever ready to trade live until they have made some mistakes and they have their emotions under complete control.
Unfortunately the courses I took didn't make trading psychology a priority in their teachings - it really needs to be ones number one goal to learn to trade without emotion and to strictly follow a set of rules.
I have learned all of this the hard way, like so many of us. But it had to be that way; I wasn't prepared to let anyone's advice stand in the way of me and profits. Stubborness and pride stopped me from earning very early on.
Greed and fear were big factors also; greed stopped me taking profits off the table when I should have. Fear saw me taking taking profits too early. Pride had me watching winning trades turn into losing ones, and then watching them continue to lose until I had wiped out my account.
One of the best lessons I have learned is to act immediately without emotion when something happens in the market that goes against my current mindset; i.e. if I am currently in a winning position, but the market starts behaving contradictory to my initial assessment, I will not stubbornly refuse to act on that new information. These days I am able to make quick decisions and get out of a trade if the market is giving me new information that contradicts my initial thoughts.
Anyway, I have lost countless thousands of dollars, much to my own and my wife's dismay. But I am still firmly of the mindset that the money I have used is like the investment I would expect to pay for a university course on trading psychology. It has taken me roughly the same amount of time as a degree might, and cost a similar amount also. So if I think of things in these terms I can remain positive and focussed on continuing to learn, rather than become depressed and regretful.
I have tried pretty much every indicator alive, in various combinations. I have had my charts full of colourful spaghetti lines, and had so many indicators on my charts that sure enough several of them were contradictory, giving me mixed signals. I have traded the 1M TF and then after quickly checking the 5M TF have changed my thoughts on market direction, closed my deal and gone the other way, only to regret my decision moments later.
I have written and rewritten my "ultimate" trading system, even posted one on here, only to discard it after a short while to chase something new.
You name it, I have done it, and not just once.
But with every mistake comes experience, knowledge and confidence. And I am of the belief that I will only fail once I decide to stop trying.
But enough of this initial ramble; let's get started on my setup, and get trading!
Just like a singer recording their own voice, picking up on mistakes and improving as a result, so too should this journal highlight flaws to learn from and successes to celebrate.
In addition to this, I am hopeful that this journal can assist others who experience similar highs and lows to myself, and let them know that they are not alone in feeling the frustration of this calling.
But a little about myself first and why I have started this thread.
I am 40 years old and have been trading for around 6 years. I did several expensive courses initially and thought I was immediately ready to get stuck into it with live $$$; my first mistake. Nobody is ever ready to trade live until they have made some mistakes and they have their emotions under complete control.
Unfortunately the courses I took didn't make trading psychology a priority in their teachings - it really needs to be ones number one goal to learn to trade without emotion and to strictly follow a set of rules.
I have learned all of this the hard way, like so many of us. But it had to be that way; I wasn't prepared to let anyone's advice stand in the way of me and profits. Stubborness and pride stopped me from earning very early on.
Greed and fear were big factors also; greed stopped me taking profits off the table when I should have. Fear saw me taking taking profits too early. Pride had me watching winning trades turn into losing ones, and then watching them continue to lose until I had wiped out my account.
One of the best lessons I have learned is to act immediately without emotion when something happens in the market that goes against my current mindset; i.e. if I am currently in a winning position, but the market starts behaving contradictory to my initial assessment, I will not stubbornly refuse to act on that new information. These days I am able to make quick decisions and get out of a trade if the market is giving me new information that contradicts my initial thoughts.
Anyway, I have lost countless thousands of dollars, much to my own and my wife's dismay. But I am still firmly of the mindset that the money I have used is like the investment I would expect to pay for a university course on trading psychology. It has taken me roughly the same amount of time as a degree might, and cost a similar amount also. So if I think of things in these terms I can remain positive and focussed on continuing to learn, rather than become depressed and regretful.
I have tried pretty much every indicator alive, in various combinations. I have had my charts full of colourful spaghetti lines, and had so many indicators on my charts that sure enough several of them were contradictory, giving me mixed signals. I have traded the 1M TF and then after quickly checking the 5M TF have changed my thoughts on market direction, closed my deal and gone the other way, only to regret my decision moments later.
I have written and rewritten my "ultimate" trading system, even posted one on here, only to discard it after a short while to chase something new.
You name it, I have done it, and not just once.
But with every mistake comes experience, knowledge and confidence. And I am of the belief that I will only fail once I decide to stop trying.
But enough of this initial ramble; let's get started on my setup, and get trading!
Trade to Live - Don't Live to Trade