how to overcome fear?

How did you overcome fear of losing money? I'm fairly new to trading (6 months) I started out on the daily time frame using support/resistance and price action, but have since moved down to the 5 minute time frame as I actually feel more comfortable (ironic I know given the threads purpose)

Below shows what I mean, the two blue rectangles fitted my trading criteria perfectly, rejecting my trend-lines perfectly, and with the overall trend, yet I talked myself out of entering?

The trade I did enter (rsi divergence and a pin bar) I exited too early as I said I must be wrong and just exited...

I feel the hardest part isn't seeing the setup (I thought it would be) but actually staying in or even just entering the trade...

It's a good question. Do you know your expectancy? If you do, then welcome your losses in the knowledge that your expectancy is over 70%, so your next trade will probably win.

Some traders like to set and forget. Go and do something else for 10 minutes.

In my case, I'm used to losing. It's annoying and frustrating but if I see another opportunity, I'm straight back on that pony.

Thank you for your response, I think i'll have to start going out the room for 15 or so minutes and either come back to a sl or tp.

I'm trying to get a 70% win rate as I feel that's realistic especially aiming for 1.5:1 rr

So annoying to see opportunities missed knowing that really good setups don't come around that often.

I believe that if you learn how to play poker well you can improve your control of fear. There are a lot of parallels between trading and poker, even bluffing...

Hey hg2014, those were beautiful pinbars. When you see this kind of setups go for 3:1 RR or more, when in a downtrend.

1) Focus on the potential profit that you could gain instead of the loss. This will spike your risk-taking behaviour, and even be moer focus on your trade.
2) Don't focus on what you can lose, what could happen, things that are not in your control, unlikely events, things like that.
3) Drink coffee before trading it will spike dopamine in the brain, which will cause you to be more agressive.
4) If you can get amphetamines on pill form (ritalin, adderal) it also helps to take risk. Cocaine will cause you to take too much risk and do extraordinary dumb things. (I'm serious)

I think focusing on the gains (stimulating/action) will cause the opposite effect of focusing on the losses (fear/paralysis). And as a paradox, if you are stimulated instead of overwhelmed with fear you can even rationalize better your trades. Fear absolutely kills your ability to think clear.

You will never lose fear in your life when making trades unless you already know the outcome, so its natural. Don't think it will disappear with time or you will be able to lose it. Its money you are dealing with, its hard-coded in your brain, and only natural. Good luck.

I like what Smikester said. Do you have backtested and more important (imo) forward tested your strategy for a nice period? I think it’s important to build confidence that way. If you have confidence in your strategy you can stick to your rules, no matter what your brain is saying. I asked myself whole the time: “What if my strategy was a full automated system, what would that system do at this moment? If the answer was nothing, I did nothing. If the answer was entering, I entered. That way I could act like a automated system without emotions.

You can also reduce you trade sizes until you gain good confidence in your system and then you can increase them progressively.

And also try adjusting your lot size for a loss that you can afford worked for me.

This is loaded question relates to having
A. No trading plan
B. Position too big
C. Weakness understanding price behavior
D. Merely unsure and guessing and hoping

If any applies to you stop trading and educate yourself just like real profession.
Write down honestly all your weaknesses and attack each one until you feel confident
I read over 50books on trading and still reading even though I have a solid system.It does not matter one always must be sharp alert in this business.
Keeping up in trading is necessary.

Work on Trading Plan if you don't have one.

"how to overcome fear?"
don't
you should afraid

//-----

hey hg...... my way is not the preferred way, but as for me, it was by losing a lot of money...... and i mean a LOT.....

personally, i would not trade in fear...... no more than i would go to an 8-to-5 job in fear.....

but that's just me...... trading, like any job, is best when it is truly enjoyable......h

My advice, keep learning new things, i realized that trading is non stop learning. The more you know, more confident you will be. Your fear will start slowly disappear.
Also take your time watching charts. The more you watch charts, the more experience you will get. You can not learn to drive a car if you stay away from it.

A agree that you need to trade small, do not rush to trade big lots. If your method works, than you can double lot size.

Good luck !

Hi Friends,

I got a very good answer on illusion of trading. “You don’t trade the markets, you trade your beliefs about the markets.” beliefs can be blind and there may be danger so fear created in mind. if we can overcome blindness (in trading) we will fearless.
"You only lose what you cling to." we cling to (Blind) beliefs of huge money, our trading supremacy etc.

I have exactly this same problem and have lost on quite a few trades because i was not confident enough to take the trade. In a way i think it is a good things because you are trying to get into the best trades and ignoring the ones which you are not sure off.

there's something about higher time frames that just make you feel like you can take on the world.make you feel like you are ontop of everything.