Disliked...A lot of people have wired themselves in a way that won't allow for success in trading. They are unable to recognize whats been in front of them all along. I was like this for quite some time...Ignored
It is a well accepted tenant (at least in US society) that, "...if you work hard and stay focused, your work will be rewarded someday." This is the work ethic I grew up with. However, it is NOT what creates success in trading, however unfortunate that may be. That is not to say that one shouldn't study and learn. However, the idea of "working" and continuing to struggle so you will one day reap the benefits of your labor is just insane and causes more failure in this business than anything else.
We get paid to SIT ON OUR HANDS...and watch...and wait...and watch some more...and wait even more, then take the one opportunity that presents during your x number of hours... If you are correct, that trade lasts a very short time...it triggers, it moves, it limits...and you're done. So the work ethic kicks in and tells you that you still have x number of hours until your day is over, and you continue to try and find something else...some other opportunity, and because you feel like you're not "working" your mind starts to invent things to "try".
This is where most people run into trouble. Once your trade is done...BE DONE! Who cares if you still have time left in your work day? But many people bombard you with their "everyday idea" of work ethic and call you "lazy", or say you're not really "working", or worse, you're playing "video games" all day long and need to get a "real job".
In my experience, this creates pressure on the trader, to produce results faster to "prove" that you are not any of those things...this pressure in turn causes you to make mistakes, that result in losses. Those losses only reaffirm to the outsider, that are just a "dreamer" to pursue this kind of business. So the trader starts to work even harder...study harder...creating even more pressure on his/herself.
It is a never ending cycle that results in dismal failure.
The only way out is to change YOUR idea of "work". This is what confuses most people and that is why they may be "wired" in a way that doesn't allow for success...it is because we need to redefine what a successful trade and trading endeavor is. I have this posted next to my computer screen so I can see it every day: A successful trade is one done by ALL my rules
It doesn't matter whether the trade makes a profit or loss, I know that if I follow ALL my rules, that the probabilities WILL work in my favor and create success...
When my brother tells me, "You don't work, why don't you go and get an actual job!" Or my mother tells me, "I would feel much better if you had more security." I tell them, those are YOUR fears, not mine. I have the security of knowing I will ALWAYS have a job. My "work" is always with me, and I can take as much or as little out of the market as I wish. Then I remind them of the dismal interest rate their "investments" are making, and ask if they want to compare? Inevitably they say "no". When I ask if they would like me to manage their accounts they again say "no". So then I ask them, "so who is more successful?"
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. I'm trying to understand how you decide on your position bias like long or short, some of them confuse me possibly because I don't quite have the order flow mindset yet. I find your descriptions on each trade really helpful thank you.
