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Practice, Practice, Practice

Let’s be brutally honest, there is no easy way to react to trading losses. If you are expecting me to give you a magic formula, then I am really sorry, as I don’t have one. Going trough losses is not easy because, for many, these are your hard earned money and of course it will be painful. However, every time you feel the pain from losing, you have gained new perspective to how “pain” feels like. From personal experience, I can honestly say this – it only gets easier because you start to know how your emotions will react and to a certain extend, you get immune to it.

Some would think that getting immune to losing is not a good thing. Agree, but you’re missing the point. When you are immune to losing, it is because you understand yourself better and you are better at managing your expectations and emotions. More importantly, when you are immune, you are emotionless and you can focus more on making rational decisions.  And that is the ultimate goal of staying positive.

Enthusiasm Brings About A Triumph

The greatest victories in life rarely come from those who are sad, pessimistic or lacking enthusiasm.
When we approach challenges in any area with enthusiasm, we set a new foundation that starts us off on the right foot. This does not automatically happen. We all need to decide that we are going to start changing the way we begin our trading sessions.
Before we jump on our computer and look at our charts and start executing trades, take about 15 minutes to set the tone for this session. Take a few deep breaths, forget about the list of tasks that you have to deal with today, get a piece of paper and write down 1 or 2 items that you will focus on during today’s trades.
Once you have your mind set and your 2 items ready; say out loud “I am ready to trade”. Say this with enthusiasm and then sit down and begin.
You will have a new perspective on today which does not include focusing on the profit results, but instead on the process. Your trading session will have new meaning and you are now set to be triumphant in today’s trades.

Getting Comfortable with Uncertainty

A trader who is comfortable with uncertainty has the capacity to stay relaxed in unclear situations and make high probability decisions with a strong degree of conviction.

As a trader, how many times have you asked yourself “Is this the right call?”
If you are like most other traders, the answer should be “nearly all the time.”
How about we break this down and think about it from a different angle.

New Perspective:
Let’s consider the possibility that it is NOT your job to make “The Right Call” but rather to make an intelligent, data-point-supported guestimate of what “The Right Call” could be and then monitor, adjust, and possibly liquidate that decision as it develops over time.

Viewing it this way takes the pressure off, doesn’t it? In fact, it may even get you more Comfortable with Making Decisions during Uncertainty.

My point is, like golf, trading is not a game of perfect. Successful traders just don’t waste their time trying to be “RIGHT;” instead they are focused on MAKING MONEY.

Top performers in any field practice their game, establish a plan and TRAIN themselves to execute when the widow of opportunity appears. So why would we think trading should be any different? In the end, winning is not about being right, it is about getting the job done.

Keep your eye on the ball and your head in the game!