The focus on avoiding losing is an easy condition to slip into.  I found it especially so if you’ve had some tough periods in your life.  Perhaps you lost a business, blew up a trading account or went for that promotion and failed to get it.  

It is particularly easy when you are taking down data to analyse your performance as most effective performers do.  That data is right in front of you.  Clear as day.  You can see exactly how many losing trades you have had, how many losing days, weeks etc.

You have an understanding that it’s all about probabilities and that if you follow the old saying “limit your losses and let your winners run” you can be a successful trader with a seemingly bad win rate (30-40%).  As long as your winners outshine your string of small losers you will be OK.  

However, you have to be very careful because when you focus on your losses, the number of losses you have, even perhaps feeling good that you can take them etc, you put yourself in a tricky position where you may be directing all your thoughts and energy towards those losses.  The catch, can then be, that the universe delivers you exactly what you are spending your time thinking about…… losses.

As a trader that isn’t probably a good thing for you and can quickly lead to youdraining your emotional capital.

Now this may all read a little too like pseudo science or pop-psychology but I would caution dismissing it right off the bat.

What if you choose consciously to start focussing on your winners and winning instead of your losers and losing.  Are you sure you aren’t going to start creating a change for the better in your trading performance?

You see I think it is very important to learn to ‘think’ probabilistically about your trading.  BUT of equal importance is to realise that you aren’t a computer and that the way that you think has a significant influence on your trading results and ability to trade to your plan.  

I believe that for most people losing comes attached with negative feelings and winning comes with positive feelings.  As a result when analysing losses, which I think is important for the lessons you can learn from them, I think it best to accept them and let them go as soon as possible.  If they fall within the parameters that you considered acceptable when you put the trade on then that is simply that.  Learn something from them if you can, log them, and, then move on.

If you spend time focussing on something: spend time focussing on your winners.  Put your mind to work in learning to recreate these positive outcomes and associated positive feelings.  

If you are in a trading rut this one mental switch may be the very thing to pull you back out and get you going in the right direction. 

Play to win.