Tag: Beliefs

“I cannot find a good trading system”

Posted on by Anatoliy Schneider

I cannot find a good trading system. The signals my system is giving me are really poor.

How do you act, what do you feel when you believe this?

  1. Frustrated – “No matter how hard I try, I cannot be successful with such a poor trading system”
  2. Depressed – “I don’t even want to trade anymore, I have tried so many systems and all them don’t work! The Market must be purely random after all.”
  3. Apathetic – “It’s not worth it, there is no point to continue. I must be a complete failure!”
  4. Lost – “What do I do now? No matter how many systems I try, the signals are still poor!”
  5. Disorganized – “I might as well just take random trades”
  6. (after a couple random losses) Hesitant – “I am not sure I should take this next trade…”

While it is true that a trading method is still necessary in order to be successful on the market, it will be of no use while you have so many conflicting beliefs about trading. After all, how many trading methods have you tested properly? By that, I mean taking 30-50 trades, without hesitation, in real account (demo just doesn’t cut it – better open cent account and risk $0.50 per trade), precisely following one method, not adjust any rules whatsoever?

In my experience, we are often impatient to get the positive results and so we cannot even stand a couple losses in a row, thinking that something must be wrong with our trading method. Of course, this is interrelated with our refusal to believe in uncertainty – we want to know what the outcome will be before we place the trade.

So let’s try and turn this around and see what happens:

The trading system I have right now is good enough for all practical purposes. I will not judge it until I collect live track record of at least 50 trades following this method.

How do you feel now?

  1. Liberated – “I can concentrate on the Market instead of constantly reading forums in the search of the next Holy Grail”
  2. Calm – “All I have to do is take the next opportunity, as defined by my trading method”
  3. Confident – “I know that the next trading opportunity will be provided by the Market. I know that whatever its outcome might be, it will take me a step further on my path towards trading success”
  4. Interested – “I wonder what the next trading opportunity will be? What lesson will it teach me?”

As was already mentioned before, when you have a proper trading mindset you might not become profitable in an instant. But you will be open to progress in your endeavors freely, without any internal resistant. The Market will teach you how to trade, it will become your friend, not an enemy – but you must take the first step.

“I cannot Accept the Losses”

Posted on by Anatoliy Schneider

I cannot accept the losses

One of the biggest problems of any trader is accepting this essential part of trading business.

So how do you feel and behave when you believe this about yourself?

  1. Scared – “I cannot pull the trigger because it could end up being a loss!”
  2. Powerless – “It seems there is nothing I can do to remove the possibility of losing”
  3. Hesitated – “Something must be wrong with this trade, let’s wait another day, the Market just does not feel right”
  4. Annoyed/Frustrated – “I am trying as hard as I can, and yet here is another loss!”
  5. Angry – “Damn this Market and its stupid rules!”
  6. Reckless – “I am sure this trade is right, I will not let the Market play against me and stop me out with another spike, I will just put this trade on without a stop loss…”
  7. Inconsistent – “My trading system is just not working, I must change the rules to avoid such stupid trade in the future”
  8. Depressed – “It is all hopeless – how can I ever win if I keep allowing these losses?”
  9. Disgusted – “I swear I’ll never trade as long as I live!”
  10. Foolish/Embarrased – “I was so sure about this trade, I kept telling everyone how much money I’ll make in this one!”

Notice when you allow your brain to enter into any of these patterns of thinking. Take a look through the list, see what applies to you personally.

It is a great thing if we are able to catch ourselves breaking predefined trading rules, such as our Risk Management or Entry rules. However, it is our thinking patterns that lead to breaking the rules or to any other problems in our trading. Consider for a moment, have you ever caught yourself thinking any of the above thoughts?

Being aware of our thinking is much harder than being aware of the fact that we did not put a stop loss in a trade. If you learn catching the moment when you talk yourself into not putting the stop loss you will start working with the cause of the problem, not the effect.

So let’s reverse the original statement:

I can easily accept the losses

Now, this may not be true for you at the moment, but try to imagine how you would feel, behave and trade if this thought would be your reality.

  1. I am confident – the losses do not frighten me.
  2. I am comfortable with my trading system – I accept all parts of it
  3. I am at peace with anything the Market will do – I allow it to behave in any way it needs to.
  4. I am grateful for every opportunity to place a trade – whatever the outcome of that trade might be.
  5. I find all the circumstances helpful – any outcome is completely acceptable to me and therefore I am making myself available to learn from it.
  6. I am looking forward to getting a loss – it is the greatest signal the Market could possible offer to me.

Consider the last point – isn’t it really the greatest feedback the Market could ever possibly offer to you? The Market is not against you, it is simply there to teach. It is clearly telling you, from its perspective, that your view of the circumstances was not correct at the moment when you placed the trade. What did you believe about the current market situation just before you pulled the trigger? Take that belief, reverse it and you have the corrected point of view, available to you with Market’s help.

I you are serious about working with your beliefs, consider trying this method – Katie Byron’s “The Work”.